Book on Levon Helm to be released

THE LEVON HELM MIDNIGHT RAMBLE
Photographs By Paul LaRaia
Foreword By Levon Helm
An intimate portrait of an American music legend

Music fans know Levon Helm as the gravel-throated tenor whose voice, drumming, and occasional mandolin picking propelled The Band on some of their biggest hits—“The Weight,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” “Up On Cripple Creek,” and dozens of others. Helm also held down the beat behind Bob Dylan during one of his most fertile periods.

His 2007 album Dirt Farmer propelled him back into the spotlight, garnering a Grammy, and his latest, Electric Dirt, is a deeper and wider slice of Americana. And for the last several years Levon Helm has hosted a weekly jam session in his barn in Woodstock, NY, that fans travel from all over the world to experience first-hand.

The Levon Helm Midnight Rambles, as they are known, have come to be the stuff of music legend. Helm explains the origins of the Ramble in the traveling medicine shows that would pass through the small Arkansas town where he grew up. Backed by a band of all-stars and occasional friends who drop by — Robert Plant and Allison Krauss, the Black Crows’ Chris Robinson, Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello, and Dr. John to name a few — Helm invites a handful of people into his own home for a real rock’n’roll revival. Helm and his friends dig deep into American music, peeling off classics from his years with The Band and Bob Dylan along with the best of Southern rhythm and blues, bluegrass, country, blues, gospel, and rock’n’roll.

Over the years, photographer Paul LaRaia has documented the Ramble with unfettered access. This book is the culmination of time spent shooting the shows and is the official record of the Midnight Ramble. Peppered throughout the book are recollections from musicians who have sat in, as well as members of the Levon Helm band who share their memories of being a part of this unique gathering.

Paul LaRaia has been photographing Levon Helm’s Ramble for the last four years. His work frequently appears in music magazines, including Rolling Stone, Living Blues, and Modern Drummer.

Publication Information:
978-0-87930-949-7;
252 pgs;
Lavish full color photos throughout;
Hard cover; $30.00.