Early years
Helm was born in Marvell, Arkansas and began playing the guitar at the age of eight. Helm also played drums during his formative years and established his first band The Jungle Bush Beaters while in high school. He was influenced by the Grand Ole Opry and by R&B songs that he heard on radio station WLAC out of Nashville, Tennessee.
Helm became interested in rock and roll after attending an Elvis Presley concert. He moved from Arkansas to Memphis, Tennessee where he was influenced by Bo Diddley and Conway Twitty. At age 17 he was invited to join The Hawks, backing rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins. Soon after Helm joined The Hawks, they moved to Toronto where, in 1959, they signed with Roulette Records and released several singles, including a few hits.
In the early 1960s Helm and Hawkins recruited an all-Canadian lineup of musicians: guitarist Robbie Robertson, bassist Rick Danko, pianist Richard Manuel and organist Garth Hudson. In 1963, the band parted ways with Hawkins and started touring under the name Levon and The Hawks and later to the Canadian Squires before finally changing back to The Hawks. They recorded two singles, but found little success.
The Band
By the mid 1960s, Bob Dylan was interested in performing electric rock music, and asked The Hawks to be his backing band. Disheartened by fans' negative response to Dylan's new sound, Helm returned to Arkansas for what turned out to be a two-year layoff, being replaced by Mickey Jones. During his absence, The Hawks had taken up residence in Woodstock, New York and began writing their own songs; Danko and Manuel also shared writing credits with Dylan on a few songs. Here they recorded a large volume of demo tapes, many with fellow Woodstock resident Dylan (who had completely withdrawn from public life the previous year). These recordings were widely bootlegged, and the best tracks were officially released only in 1975 as The Basement Tapes double album. The songs and themes developed during this period played a crucial role in the group's future direction and style.
In 1967 Helm returned to the group, which by then was christened simply as The Band. They recorded Music From Big Pink, which catapulted them into stardom. On Big Pink, Manuel was the most prominent vocalist and Helm sang mainly backup, with the outstanding exception of "The Weight," but as Manuel's health deteriorated and Robertson's songwriting increasingly looked south for influence and direction, subsequent albums relied more and more on Helm's growling but eerily plaintive vocals (alone or in harmony with Danko), both enriched by and anchored in lush Southern texture. Singing lead, Helm brought out common elements in folk and blues vocal styles, often assuming the character of a kind of mythical Southern everyman, who witnesses bewildering events and reacts to them with wonder and rage. Helm played drums for perhaps 85% of The Band's songs, including most of those for which he sang lead. But the entire group was multi-instrumental, and often Helm would be found performing on mandolin or 12-string rhythm guitar when Manuel played drums, and bass when Danko played fiddle.
Helm remained with The Band until their 1976 farewell performance, The Last Waltz, which was recorded in a documentary film by Martin Scorsese. Although many now know Helm through his appearance in the concert film – a performance remarkable for the fact that Helm's vocal tracks appear substantially as he sang them during a grueling concert – he repudiated his involvement with the film shortly after the final scenes were shot and, in his autobiography, offers scathing criticisms of the film and of his former bandmate, Robertson, who produced the film.
As solo artist, The Band reunited
With the breakup of The Band in its original form, Helm began working on a solo album Levon Helm & the RCO All-Stars, which was followed soon thereafter by Levon Helm. He recorded solo albums in 1980 and 1982 entitled American Son and (once again) Levon Helm. Helm also participated in Paul Kennerley's 1980 country music concept album, The Legend of Jesse James, singing the role of Jesse James alongside Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris and Albert Lee.
In 1983, The Band reunited without Robbie Robertson, but then Manuel committed suicide while on tour in 1986. Helm, Danko and Hudson continued in The Band, releasing the album Jericho in 1993 and High on the Hog in 1996. The final album from The Band was the 30th anniversary album, Jubilation, released in 1998.
His most recent solo albums, Dirt Farmer, was released in 2007 to favorable reviews and followed in 2009 with an album entitled "Electric Dirt", which included a cover of the Grateful Dead song Tennessee Jed.
Helm was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998. On April 19, 2012, Helm died of throat cancer complications in New York City.
Atlantic City
Levon Helm Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And they blew up his house, too.
Down on the boardwalk they're ready for a fight
Gonna see what them racket boys can do.
Now there's trouble busin' in from outta state
And the d.a. can't get no relief.
Gonna be a rumble on the promenade
Everything dies, baby that's a fact
But maybe everything that dies some day comes back.
Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty
And meet me tonight in Atlantic city.
Well, I got a job and I put my money away
But I got the kind of debts that no honest man can pay.
So I drew out what I had from the central trust
And I bought us two tickets on that coast city bus.
Everything dies, baby that's a fact
But maybe everything that dies some day comes back.
Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty
And meet me tonight in Atlantic city.
Now our luck may have died and our love may be cold
But with you forever I'll stay.
We'll be goin' out where the sands turn to gold
But put your stockings on 'cause it might get cold.
Oh, everything dies, baby that's a fact
But maybe everything that dies some day comes back.
Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty
And meet me tonight in Atlantic city.
Now I've been a-lookin' for a job, but it's hard to find
There's winners and there's losers
And I am south of the line.
Well, I'm tired of gettin' caught out on the losin' end
But I talked to a man last night,
Gonna do a little favor for him.
Well, everything dies, baby that's a fact
But maybe everything that dies some day comes back.
Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty
And meet me tonight in Atlantic city.
Oh, meet me tonight in Atlantic city,
Oh, meet me tonight in Atlantic city.
The song Atlantic City by Levon Helm is a story about a working-class man who is struggling to survive and make ends meet. The lyrics talk about the events in Atlantic City, which is a gambling town in New Jersey where people go to live a better life. The song begins with the news of the chicken man in Philly being blown up, signifying how the city is full of crime and danger. There is trouble coming from out of state, and the district attorney cannot bring any relief. The lyrics suggest that there is a profound sense of desperation and conflict happening in the city.
The singer of the song has a job and money saved, but he has debts that cannot be paid by an honest man. He decides to withdraw what he has saved and buys two tickets to Atlantic City, a place where he hopes his luck will change. However, the chorus reminds us that everything dies, but maybe everything that dies one day comes back. The singer meets his lover in Atlantic City, and they go to the boardwalk to watch the people waiting for a fight. They plan to go where the sands turn into gold, signifying that they hope for a better future. They put on their makeup and stockings despite the cold weather, hoping to look their best for each other.
Overall, the song is about the struggles of everyday people living in a city full of crime, and how they are trying to make a better life for themselves. The sense of desperation and hope is beautifully juxtaposed in the lyrics, which show that no matter how difficult times may be, there is always hope for a better tomorrow.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, they blew up the chicken man in Philly last night
There was an explosion that took place in Philly. It was so intense that it caused a lot of destruction. It affected the chicken man and destroyed his house too.
And they blew up his house, too.
The explosion in Philly was so powerful that it destroyed not only the chicken man but also his house.
Down on the boardwalk they're ready for a fight
People on the boardwalk are preparing themselves for some form of altercation.
Gonna see what them racket boys can do.
The people on the boardwalk are interested in seeing the response of some group known as the 'racket boys.'
Now there's trouble busin' in from outta state
There is some form of chaos or danger coming from a different state.
And the d.a. can't get no relief.
The district attorney is not able to find any solution or resolution to this problem.
Gonna be a rumble on the promenade
There is going to be some kind of violent conflict on the promenade.
And the gamblin' commissioner's hangin' on by the skin of his teeth.
The gambling commissioner is barely managing to stay in control of the situation.
Everything dies, baby that's a fact
Everything that exists at one point or the other, will come to an end, as that is the reality of life.
But maybe everything that dies some day comes back.
While everything comes to an end, there is the possibility for new beginnings or resurrection.
Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty
Get yourself ready and looking good.
And meet me tonight in Atlantic city.
Come and meet me tonight in Atlantic City.
Well, I got a job and I put my money away
I have a job and have been saving some money.
But I got the kind of debts that no honest man can pay.
I owe debts that honestly are unpayable.
So I drew out what I had from the central trust
I had to withdraw everything I had from the central trust.
And I bought us two tickets on that coast city bus.
With the money I withdrew, I managed to buy two tickets to travel by a coast city bus.
Now our luck may have died and our love may be cold
Even though things might not be working out for us as they used to, and it might look like our love has gotten cold or is dying, we will still stick together.
But with you forever I'll stay.
I will remain committed to being with you forever.
We'll be goin' out where the sands turn to gold
We will be travelling to a place where it's beautiful and everything seems perfect.
But put your stockings on 'cause it might get cold.
The journey is going to be long; wear your stockings to keep warm.
Now I've been a-lookin' for a job, but it's hard to find
I have been seeking employment, but it's difficult to secure a job.
There's winners and there's losers
In life, you either win or lose.
And I am south of the line.
Currently, I haven't been able to secure a win; I'm still on the losing side.
Well, I'm tired of gettin' caught out on the losin' end
I'm exhausted from always finding myself on the losing side.
But I talked to a man last night,
But something happened last night, I spoke to an individual.
Gonna do a little favor for him.
I agreed to do something for that individual who I talked to, as a return favor.
Oh, meet me tonight in Atlantic city,
Oh, come and meet me tonight in Atlantic City.
Oh, meet me tonight in Atlantic city.
Oh, come and meet me tonight in Atlantic City.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bruce Springsteen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Willie Hart
for those of you living on mars for the last 20 years. hero's are not forgotten and legends never die. levon helm was both.
Arjan Koeslag
It's hard for me to put into words what a wonderful song this is. The music of The Band (including original band members Rick Danko on guitar bass and vocals and Garth Hudson on accordion) led by Levon Helm at its very best. And then the beautiful lyrics of this original song by Bruce Springsteen. The combination of the melancholic and fragile voice of Levon Helm and the lyrics of this song (especially the chorus) touch me straight in the heart. It is so pure and healing at the same time. This is what music is made for. Thank you Levon Helm and The Band for all the beauty you have given me and the world.
zz377zz
When its time to sit out back,light up a cigar,and set a jack and coke to the side,its time to listen to Levon.We are poorer for the loss of him,but heaven must be grand now.
chris miller
To me, Levon's voice is the epitome of Americana.
JADAR671
Levon Helm died today April 19, 2012 give him a big thumbs up ..great voice
terrence westerman
4:19 ,you gotta minute?
noah chapman
RIP to a legend
ryan ford
He wasn't in it for his health
Kurt Cole
All the greats are getting up there in age, rock n roll heaven is getting crowded. someday I will be reunited with the best music makers ever and get to listen to their heavenly souls once again.
Arkansas Sheryl
Always loved this song! R.I.P Levon Helm! ♥