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Levon Helm performs on the mandolin in 2008.
Unseen footage of the Levon Helm Band playing the Bruce Springsteen hit “Atlantic City” in Arkansas has surfaced on social media. It feeds the souls of music lovers.
The performance took place more than two decades ago at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock. It has now been shared with the public thanks to the University of Arkansas.
Despite those 20 years having passed, the video and audio are in great condition. Helm’s voice is powerful.
I came across the video doing what everyone does at 1 AM when they can’t sleep on a weeknight – doomscrolling. Usually, that provides little joy. It’s simply something to pass the time. In this case, it provided a surprisingly satisfying start to my weekend.
Who is Levon Helm?
If you’re here, you probably already have a good idea. The musician and Arkansan was best known for being a drummer and singer for The Band.
The group put out major tunes throughout the 60s and 70s headlined by “The Weight”, “Up on Cripple Creek”, and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”. The Band’s release of Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City” might’ve trumped them all.
Helm got his musical start in high school after being invited to play with The Hawks (later The Band). After graduating, he moved to Toronto to tour with the group full-time.
They’d land their breakthrough when Bob Dylan went electric. The songwriter asked the band to back him. That partnership would help them land a paycheck, but the group’s 1968 release of Music from Big Pink catapulted them into stardom.
The Band would stick together through 1976. Helm then got into acting and solo work.
When did The Band release ‘Atlantic City?’
The Band would reunite in 1983 and continue making music up through the late 90s. It is in this second go-round that “Atlantic City” was released.
The song was originally written and performed by Bruce Springsteen. It was listed as a track on his 1982 solo album Nebraska. A decade later, The Band put it on the Jericho album (1993).
Lyrics describe a young couple grappling with a move to Atlantic City after the legalization of gambling. The man intends to take a job in organized crime in an area searching for revitalization through less-than-savory avenues.
“Everything dies, baby that’s a fact / Maybe everything that dies, someday it comes back.”
The Band’s rendition of “Atlantic City” is the most popular. If you’re hearing the song on the radio, it’s this version. Helm played the tune with both the group and in later solo acts. One of those performances is now public.
Unseen footage of the Levon Helm Band playing in Arkansas has surfaced.
Chills! The footage is from 2005 when the Levon Helm Band played at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas. His voice is soulful and strong. The performance is particularly moving considering health battles faced by the singer.
Helm was diagnosed with throat cancer in the 1990s. He lost his voice as a result. It nearly ended his career. After receiving treatment, he regained strength and began singing again around 2004. One year later, he gave us this.
Helm was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He died in April of 2012.
This new footage is great way to remember Helm’s music and impact on the industry. I think I’ll throw on the Jericho album now while I try to catch some Z-Z-Zs.