Remembering Levon Helm: Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks On TV In 1959

Five years ago today Levon Helm, a founding member of The Band, died at the age of 71 after a long battle with cancer. Helm’s emotion-filled vocals and swinging drum style were at the heart of many of The Band’s most beloved songs including “The Weight,” “Up On Cripple Creek,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and “Ophelia.”

The Band spent time backing Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan before deciding to go it alone. 1968’s Music From The Big Pink was the group’s debut record and won them critical and commercial success quickly. The Band would go on to release a total of six studio albums ahead of the group’s initial run coming to a close with the legendary Last Waltz concert in 1976. Helm’s last decade saw him host many concerts, which he called rambles, at his home/studio in Woodstock, New York as he staged a comeback for the ages after an initial diagnosis of throat cancer and a slew of financial issues.

In memory of Levon Helm we’ve compiled a pair of clips from 1959 television appearances he made as the drummer in Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks. Hawkins was an Arkansas native who played a huge role in The Band’s history. Ronnie recruited the musicians that would go on to form The Band to back him as “The Hawks” in the late ’50s and ’60s. Helm was the first to sign on with Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson following later. The clips below were filmed before Robbie, Rick, Richard and Garth joined The Hawks.

Let’s begin with a short clip from a Canadian after school TV show:

Here’s the group’s appearance on The Dick Clark Beech-Nut Show from May 9, 1959: