The Band (feat. Paul Butterfield) - Mystery Train

Levon Helm, the drummer / vocalist for The Band, has died after a long battle with throat cancer. He was 71.

Helm was born and raised in Arkansas. He grew up in a musical household where he learned to play multiple instruments. As a teenager, he became the drummer for rockabilly legend Ronnie Hawkins' band the Hawks. In the early 1960s, four Canadian musicians joined the Hawks: Robbie Robertson, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko, and Garth Hudson.

In the mid-1960s, Helm, Robertson, Manuel, Danko, and Hudson parted ways with Hawkins, at which point Helm became their leader for a short period, they were called "Levon and the Hawks." They made a few records, but none were hits. In 1965, Bob Dylan hired them as his backing band. Shortly after, Helm left the band when Dylan was famously booed during his first electric tour.

In 1967, Helm rejoined the others, and Dylan, in Woodstock, New York. They took up the moniker "the Band". They recorded a series of ragged bootlegs, which eventually became The Basement Tapes, as well as the legendary 1968 album Music From Big Pink. The Band went on to major success with classic songs such as "The Weight", "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", and "Up on Cripple Creek".

The Band toured and recorded until their farewell performance on November 25, 1976 at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. It served as the basis for Martin Scorcese's concert documentary The Last Waltz as well as a live album. The concert featured performances from Ronnie Hawkins, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, Emmylou Harris, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Ronnie Wood, and several others.

Following the Band's last performance, Helm released a string of solo albums, and in 1989, Helm and Danko joined Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band. He also started a career as an actor in 1980, he played Loretta Lynn's father in Coal Miner's Daughter. In 1983, the Band reformed without Robbie Robertson. Manuel passed away in 1986 and Danko died in 1999.

In the late 1990s, Helm was diagnosed with throat cancer. Shortly after, Helm began a series of performances at the Barn, his home and studio in Woodstock, where he performed with an ever-changing cast of guest musicians. His voice recovered, he went on tour, and he recorded 2007's Dirt Farmer and 2009's Electric Dirt.

[source Pitchfork.com]
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Train arrive 16 coaches long
Train arrive 16 coaches long
Well that long black train
Got my baby and gone

Train train rolling round the bend
Train train rolling round the bend
Well it took my baby
Away from me again

Come down to the station
Meet my baby at the gate
Asked the station master
If the train's running late
He said "If you're a-waiting
on the 444
I hate to tell you son
That train don't stop here anymore"

Train train rolling down down the line
Train train rolling down the line
Well it took my baby
And left poor me behind

Heard that whistle blowing
It was the middle of the night
When I got down to the station
The train was pulling out of sight

Mystery train smoking down the track
Mystery train smoking down the track
Well I don't want no ride
Just bring my baby back


[Original lyrics by Junior Parker]
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