Levon Helm in Final Stages of Fight With Cancer

April 17, 2012

Levon Helm, a treasured voice in Americana music whose Southern drawl and busy-but-tight drumming brought an authenticity to The Band, is losing his decade-long battle with cancer, his family announced on Tuesday.

“Levon is in the final stages of his battle with cancer,” a message reads on Helm’s website. “Please send your prayers and love to him as he makes his way through this part of his journey.”

Levon Helm always seemed like one of the real good guys in all of rock and roll, someone who was in it for all the right reasons, and left the whole scene bigger, cleaner, and better by being part of it. And that voice - just so big and embracing and raw and authentic.

Just rotten news.

Rolling Stone’s got a list of Levon’s best moments.

And 50,000 websites will have this song up today – and so will we: