A biography for Levon Helmhasn’t been written yet.
“I don't fool with a lot of things that I can't have fun with. There's not much reward in that.”
“Anytime I switch to another instrument, I immediately turn it into another kind of drum so that I can understand it better.”
“We're all dealt with the same hand here, so to speak. I feel like I've had it a lot better than most people. I've had the opportunity to travel and play music all my life.”
“With horns and a full rhythm section, the drums always looked like the best seat in the house.”
“I don't think I'm a millionaire, but I'm comfortable.”
“There were no rules, other than that the song should sound good and be fun to play.”
“Dad and mom would have preferred that I be a doctor, a lawyer, a scientist, or a great humanitarian.”
“A friend of mine took me to Memphis advised me that I should get in the musicians' union. He gave me a set of drums and said, Stay on the job, son.”
“When the second record came out, they started calling it The Band. I voted to call it The Crackers. I'm no fool.”
“My mom, God love her, she was one of those Bible people. She thought it was wrong to bother anybody, regardless of race, color or religion. It just wasn't a Christian thing to look down on anybody, and that's what she taught us.”
“I like to get within handshaking distance of the crowd. If it happens, they know it, we know it, and that's all we came here for.”
“If you give it good concentration, good energy, good heart and good performance, the song will play you.”
“We all love musical architecture; there's no doubt about that.”
“If things are going slow, I'm itchy.”
“We live in an age of miracles.”
“I had throat cancer, and I had to have radiation treatments, and I couldn't sing for a long time; and this was in '97. I had 28 radiation treatments. I didn't die, thank God.”
“I've always thought it was easier for girls to sing harmonies because their voices can go to that higher plane so much more easy than a male voice.”
“Drums usually seem to tune themselves.”
“Lord, when the song wants to pick up and go a little faster towards the end, it's hard for me to resist.”
“Songs don't wear out. Good songs are good now. If they were a comfort during those hard times in the past, they'll be a comfort in today's age.”