Raised in poverty in Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, the late Levon Helm clawed his way to fame and fortune in the Music industry, lost it all and got it back.
Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello, Mumford & Sons, Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead and My Morning Jacket were just a few of the musical acts that ma.
But word quickly spread among Levon\'s fans and his musical colleagues, old and new.
The Midnight Ramble began without a budget for anything.
The Town of Woodstock and the Music business would never be the same.
Ultimately, this Rock star would find salvation in a federal bankruptcy court in Poughkeepsie, New York, where a judge approved his proposal to use revenue from the Midnight Ramble to pay off his debts.
Those rent parties turned into the Midnight Ramble.
Faced with foreclosure, Levon staged rent parties that, if not successful, would at the very least let him go out with a bang, as he said.
And all he did to execute a vision decades in the making was turn the knob on his front door and invite his audience into Levon Helm Studios.
Scrambling to survive, Levon Helm kicked back and he kicked back hard.
Levon Helm: Rock, Roll and Ramble-The Inside Story of the Man, the Music and the Midnight Ramble is a tale of tragedy and triumph set against a moving target of a Music industry.
Barry.
And his rager of a recovery, his blazing path to redemption, the dying plea he unleashed and the emphatic response he received from fans are all detailed in a new book by Music journalist John W.
Levon\'s comeback was triggered by the Midnight Rambles, intimate house concerts he staged at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, the very building he almost lost to the bank.
Levon\'s last-ditch scRamble for survival, as he recovered from cancer and bankruptcy, was not only successful, it shifted the Music industry paradigm.
But even more important than the global success of The Band was that which unfolded during the last years of Levon\'s life, and his final act as an artist and musician.
All of this was an outgrowth of Levon\'s role as drummer, mandolin player and vocalist for The Band.
He had played a pivotal role in launching the modern-day genre of Americana music, which today features bands like the Lumineers, Avett Brothers and Mumford & Sons.
When he died in April 2012, the legacy he left revolved largely around a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame career that had brought him to Madison Square Garden and Wembley Stadium.
Raised in poverty in Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, the late Levon Helm clawed his way to fame and fortune in the Music industry, lost it all and got it back
