Levon Helm Quotes

Most of our stuff was trial and error. You live with a tape recorder, you turn it on, you play the song and you listen to it. — Levon Helm

You got to pick one - pay your medical bills or pay the mortgage. Most people can't do both, and I'm no different. — Levon Helm

I've had all the lessons I could get. I've learned from everybody I've ever met. — Levon Helm

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. — Levon Helm

Don't we all want what's best for each other? — Levon Helm

Drums usually seem to tune themselves. — Levon Helm

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. — Levon Helm

If you feel like you're getting into a rut with a song, a night off usually fixes it. — Levon Helm

If you give it good concentration, good energy, good heart and good performance, the song will play you. — Levon Helm

The Jungle Bush Beaters didn't last too long as a group, but we had a pretty good time while we did. — Levon Helm

Good times don't last long sometimes. — Levon Helm

We live in an age of miracles. — Levon Helm

It's different playing in a studio than it is playing live, of course. — Levon Helm

With horns and a full rhythm section, the drums always looked like the best seat in the house. — Levon Helm

If you pour some music on whatever's wrong, it'll sure help out. — Levon Helm

I love horns, and the bigger the band, the better it sounds to my ear. — Levon Helm

Well, somebody's got to sing. They won't hire you unless you sing. — Levon Helm

If things are going slow, I'm itchy. — Levon Helm

Dad and mom would have preferred that I be a doctor, a lawyer, a scientist, or a great humanitarian. — Levon Helm

I was in high school, trying to get out of high school. The only thing slowing me up was grades. — Levon Helm

We all love musical architecture; there's no doubt about that. — Levon Helm

If it doesn't come from your heart, music just doesn't work. — Levon Helm

When the second record came out, they started calling it The Band. I voted to call it The Crackers. I'm no fool. — Levon Helm

I don't think I'm a millionaire, but I'm comfortable. — Levon Helm

The rock star stuff never came up for us. The Band was never attacked by groupies before, during or after any show that we ever played. — Levon Helm

Anytime I switch to another instrument, I immediately turn it into another kind of drum so that I can understand it better. — Levon Helm

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. — Levon Helm

Forever Young, by Dylan, is one of my favorite songs. — Levon Helm

After I was old enough to work, they'd have to make three pies: one for each family and one for Lavon. And I'd guard mine. — Levon Helm

I'm not in it for my health. I'm a musician and I wanna live the way I do. — Levon Helm

By the time The Band did The Last Waltz, the chemistry had changed, and it wasn't a thrill anymore to live that studio kind of life. — Levon Helm

Maybe the greatness we heard in [Richard Manuel]'s voice, that catch in it, came from all that pain. To this day, we don't really know. — Levon Helm

I don't fool with a lot of things that I can't have fun with. There's not much reward in that. — Levon Helm

I played some Yamaha drums that I like a lot. And I like the Yamaha people a lot too. They've been really nice to me and The Band. — Levon Helm

There were no rules, other than that the song should sound good and be fun to play. — Levon Helm

I never subscribe to the stay-at-home policy. I'm not sick of the road or sick of eating in good restaurants around the country. I like to travel. — Levon Helm

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. — Levon Helm

When I was younger, I used to drive up to a bunch of turkeys, roll down the window and say something. They'd all gobble back at once. — Levon Helm

As rowdy as the place was, I've seen rowdier times playing fraternity parties in Oklahoma. — Levon Helm

Lord, when the song wants to pick up and go a little faster towards the end, it's hard for me to resist. — Levon Helm

My dad and I played music. He teaches me a song or two every time I'm home. — Levon Helm

The way to do it is to put as much life into the song as I can. You can either get it to breathe or you can't. — Levon Helm

Drums just always sounded like the most fun part of that good music for me. — Levon Helm

My parents wanted me to be smart and be a scholar, and the best I could do was graduate high school. — Levon Helm

The crowd is just as important as the group. It takes everything to make it work. — Levon Helm

The Band never really played big concert tours. We never sold millions and millions of albums. — Levon Helm