Helm Rolling Stone Greatest Singers

Helm Rolling Stone Greatest Singers, The Band drummer Levon Helm, who was revealed on Tuesday to be in the “final stages of his battle with cancer,” has died at age 71.

“Levon Helm passed peacefully this afternoon,” his rep said in a statement on Thursday. “He was surrounded by family, friends and band mates and will be remembered by all he touched as a brilliant musician and a beautiful soul.”

One of the few drummers who was also a lead singer, Helm was an original member of The Band, who first toured with Bob Dylan in 1965. The Arkansas-born musician’s distinctive country-style vocals were featured on several of The Band’s biggest hits, including “The Weight”and “Up on Cripple Creek.” (See videos below.) Following the breakup of The Band in 1976, Helm joined Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band and released several solo albums.

After being diagnosed with throat cancer in the late 1990s, Helm made one of music’s most remarkable comebacks, refusing to let his ailing vocal chords stop him from singing. He formed the Levon Helm Band and invited famous musician friends to his Woodstock home to perform at a legendary concert series he called “The Midnight Ramble” (later released on CD). His final two studio albums, Dirt Farmer and Electric Dirt, were released in 2007 and 2009; both won Grammys, as did his 2010 live album Ramble at the Ryman. (iVillage)