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DIRT FARMER,
Grammy winner for |
Levon
Helm’s first solo, studio recording in 25 years,
Dirt Farmer, will be
released to the public on October 30, through Dirt Farmer Music LLC in
conjunction with Vanguard Records. Levon sings and plays drums, guitar
and mandolin on the CD, accompanied by Larry Campbell on guitars and
fiddle, and the voices of Amy Helm and Teresa Williams. The record
explores songs Levon learned as a boy in Arkansas and others in that
style.
“Growing up on a cotton farm in the Arkansas Delta,
Dirt Farmer
rings true to home,” Levon said. “Amy encouraged me to go all the way
back and try to record some of the family songs from home that we always
loved best.”
The record reveals the essential beauty of traditional songs like
“Little Birds” and the Stanley Brothers’ “False Hearted Lover Blues,”
and takes a new look at Paul Kennerley’s “A Train Robbery,” Buddy and
Julie Miller’s “Wide River To Cross” and another sentimental favorite,
Lauralyn Dossett’s “Anna Lee.”
Levon said: “‘The Girl I Left Behind’ was one of the first songs my
parents taught me as a child, along with ‘Little Birds’and ‘Blind
Child.’ ‘The Poor Old Dirt Farmer’ is a song that my wood-carver
musician friend Michael Copus and I learned together when we worked with
Jane Fonda on
The Dollmaker down in Tennessee. ‘Single Girl,
Married Girl’ is one of my favorite songs of the whole session. It gave
us the chance to address a traditional standard with the entire rhythm
section using non-electric instruments and a full set of drums. It also
gave us the chance to monkey up the rhythm of a traditional country
beat.”
The tracks are elevated by the musicianship of Brian Mitchell on piano
and accordion, Byron Isaacs on bass, Glenn Patscha on pump organ and
George Receli’s percussion. Buddy and Julie Miller contribute backing
vocals on Steve Earle’s “The Mountain.”
If you have already been a guest at the Barn, make plans to come back!
And if you haven’t experienced a Ramble yet, this may be the golden
opportunity.
Levon wants to express his deep gratitude to
his musical collaborators, the staff at Levon Helm studios and his
friends and fans for their loyalty through good times and bad.
“The last few years have proven to me that we truly live in an age of
miracles,” he said.
The CD is now available at most music stores, online music stores and from www.levonhelm.com.
cover photo by: Ahron R. Foster
The 2008 Grammy winner for Best Traditional Folk Album goes to Levon Helm for
Dirt Farmer!
Congratulations to Levon, Larry, Amy, Teresa, Brian, Byron, Glenn and everyone else involved in creating this great album.
Nominees have been announced for the
7th Annual Americana Honors & Awards Show
Americana Music Association
Album of the year ~ "Dirt Farmer"
Artist of the year ~ Levon Helm
Song of the Year ~ "Poor Old Dirt Farmer"Levon Helm - "Only Halfway Home" 20:57
A short film inspired by and featuring music from Levon Helm's
GRAMMY Award winning album Dirt Farmer.
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"Dirt
Farmer, an
exquisitely unvarnished monument to Americana from a man whose
keening, lyrical vocals have become synonymous with it."
"Closer to the heart of
The Band than anything since The Last Waltz."
"Dirt
Farmer is an iconic album, this year’s Time Out of Mind or
Freedom. Just give him a Grammy."
"Levon Helm Finds His Voice"
-Rolling Stone
Making music again: Legendary Levon's
comeback album: By Steve Israel
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1. 
tracks from Dirt
Farmer