Levon Helm losing cancer fight, family says
The Associated Press
Posted: Apr 17, 2012 5:04 PM ET
Last Updated: Apr 17, 2012 5:41 PM ET
Levon Helm, shown performing Oct. 9, 2009, is losing battle with cancer, family says. (Richard Drew/Associated Press)
Levon Helm, a former drummer with The Band, is in the final stages of his long battle with cancer.
A message posted Tuesday on the 71-year-old musician's website by his family says "Levon is in the final stages of his battle with cancer."
Helm was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998 and the illness reduced his voice to a whisper. But he still continued to sing on albums and at rollicking concerts at his Woodstock, N.Y., home.
Helm was a key member of The Band and lent his distinctive Southern voice to classics like The Weight and The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.
Original members of The Band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
Helm's last two efforts have been solo recordings, Dirt Farmer in 2007 and Electric Dirt in 2010, both of which earned Grammy Awards.
© The Associated Press, 2012
Share Tools
Big Box Advertisement
Horror tale Haunting Melissa targets app audiences by Jessica Wong May. 16, 2013 4:40 PM If you're seeking the weather, the news or a pic of what your buddy had for lunch, there are apps for that. What about an original, Hollywood-calibre ghost story from a producer of The Ring and Mulholland Drive? Now, there's an app for that, too. Haunting Melissa ventures into the burgeoning realm of digital storytelling as a traditional ghost story with a modern twist -- namely a tale that unfolds through an iOS app.
Top News Headlines
- Unknown remains found on Dellen Millard's farm
- Police searching the farm of Dellen Millard, the 27-year-old charged with first-degree murder after the remains of Ancaster, Ont., man Tim Bosma were discovered, have found other remains on the property, but it's unclear if they are human or animal. more »
- Canadian on EI shut out amid foreign worker influx
- A jobless Canadian IT professional who is collecting employment insurance is upset because he now suspects several recent jobs he applied for went to temporary foreign workers. more »
- Can the Senate fire a senator?
- An expert on parliamentary rules says the Senate has the power to turf a senator from the chamber, as long as a majority approves the expulsion, and as long as there is cause. more »
- Nahlah Ayed: Vote-wary Iranians mull Ahmadinejad's successor
- Iranians go to the polls in less than four weeks to choose a new president. The reform movement is still smarting from its bitter defeat four years ago, but the jockeying for power is no less intense, Nahlah Ayed reports. more »
- Edmonton boy, 2, killed after car hits patio
- A two-year-old boy is dead after a car smashed into a patio at a south Edmonton restaurant Sunday night. more »
Must Watch
Latest Arts & Entertainment News Headlines
- Denmark's Emmelie de Forest wins Eurovision
- Denmark's Emmelie de Forest has won this year's Eurovision Song Contest with her ethno-inspired flute and drum tune Only Teardrops. more »
- John Lennon guitar snags $408,000 at auction
- A custom-made electric guitar played by the late John Lennon and George Harrison of the Beatles sold at a New York auction on Saturday for $408,000 US, said officials with the company behind the event more »
- Xbox launch Tuesday highly anticipated
- Microsoft's next-generation Xbox expected to be revealed Tuesday, and anticipation for the entertainment console's latest evolution is running high. more »
- Halifax musicians rally behind guitarist Rick Edgett
- A group of Halifax musicians are rallying behind a local guitar player who's dying of cancer. more »
Q Blog
Pete Townshend on The Who's "Tommy" May. 17, 2013 4:15 PM
CBC Books
Juvenile inmates benefiting from Russian literature May. 17, 2013 3:32 PM A juvenile correctional facility in Virginia has seen the behavioural benefits of encouraging their inmates to read the works of classic Russian writers like Tolstoy and Dostoevsky.
- Unknown remains found on Dellen Millard's farm
- Canadian on EI shut out amid foreign worker influx
- Central Newfoundland digs out from freak snowfall
- Petition looks to rename Victoria Day
- Missing Toronto woman's parents unfazed by Millard link
- Vancouver man attacked, killed in Costa Rica
- Jeep driver apologizes after stunt kills Edmonton woman
- Rob Ford should resign if allegations true, councillors say
- Can the Senate fire a senator?
