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A singer, instrumentalist, and songwriter with a rich pedigree,
Amy Helm was a veteran performer with years of recording and touring experience under her belt before she first stepped forward as a solo artist in her forties. A lifelong musician and music lover,
Helm's parents --
the Band's legendary drummer and singer
Levon Helm and singer/songwriter
Libby Titus -- guided her training and influences. As a founding member of the alt-country collective
Ollabelle and a backing musician in her father's Midnight Ramble Band, her signature is an instantly recognizable, grainy, soulful alto that coaxes subtle shades of meaning from any song lyrics she chooses to sing and inhabits the spaces between them with a receptive yet authoritative presence. Her unique phrasing -- as displayed on her 2015 debut
Didn't It Rain -- resides in the spectral musical terrain between country, gospel, blues, and folk.
Helm has continued to expand her sound, working with
Joe Henry for 2018's
This Too Shall Light and
Josh Kaufman for 2021's
What the Flood Leaves Behind.
Amy Helm was born in Woodstock, New York on December 3, 1970; her father was
Levon Helm, the drummer and vocalist with the iconic roots rockers
the Band, and her mother was
Libby Titus, a singer and songwriter whose songs had been recorded by artists such as
Linda Ronstadt,
Bonnie Raitt, and
Carly Simon. By the time
Helm was six years old, her parents had split up, and she went to live with her mother, who was then in a relationship with
Mac Rebennack, better known as
Dr. John;
Rebennack was good friends with
Levon Helm, and
Amy remained close to her father. By the time she was attending Manhattan's Trinity School, she was in a singing group with her friends called the Chilly Winds, and her tastes leaned toward R&B and hip-hop acts such as
Cameo,
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, and
Run-D.M.C.That began to change when
Helm was 17 and started listening to her father's music, starting with
the Band's debut album,
Music from Big Pink. She soaked up her father's tastes in vintage blues and gospel, and also began striking out in a new direction as a performer. In 1993,
Helm made her recording debut: singing backing vocals on
Donald Fagen's album
Kamakiriad (once again keeping it in the family, as
Fagen had married
Libby Titus that same year). She also performed in the studio and on tour with the reunited
Steely Dan. In 2002,
Amy teamed up with a handful of New York roots musicians to form the group
Ollabelle, which fused bluegrass and gospel flavors into a sound that earned them a powerful reputation with critics.
Ollabelle released their self-titled debut album in 2004, with
Levon Helm making a guest appearance as drummer on one track. That year also marked the first of a series of house party-style shows that
Levon Helm staged at the recording studio installed in a restored barn on his property;
Levon had suffered a serious bout with throat cancer, and the monthly shows, known as "the Midnight Rambles," gave him a chance to return to performing in a comfortable setting as well as play music with friends for fans.
Amy was one of the organizers of the Midnight Ramble concerts, and
Ollabelle were frequent guests on the bill; as
Levon's health improved, he resumed touring, with
Amy playing mandolin and singing as part of his road band.
In 2007,
Levon Helm released his first album of new material in 25 years,
Dirt Farmer, which
Amy co-produced with
Larry Campbell, and the project was a critical and commercial success that helped jumpstart
Levon's career; it also prompted the release of two more albums with
Amy on board, 2009's
Electric Dirt and the 2011 live set
Ramble at the Ryman.
Amy found herself serving double-duty, playing with her father's combo while also recording and touring with
Ollabelle, which released two more studio albums (2006's
Riverside Battle Songs and 2011's Neon Blue Bird) and a live disc (2008's
Before This Time). She also provided guest vocals for a wide range of artists including
the Holmes Brothers,
Linda Thompson,
Joan Osborne, and
Blackie and the Rodeo Kings.
Amy had begun work on a solo album with the Midnight Ramble band when her father died on April 19, 2012; determined to keep the studio open, she continued to host concerts at
Levon's barn, and began working with a new band,
Amy Helm & the Handsome Strangers. As
Amy's new band gained strength from their live work and she became more confident as a bandleader and lead vocalist, she opted to re-record much of the material on her album, though three songs with
Levon on drums would make the final cut. In July 2015,
Amy released her first solo album,
Didn't It Rain, and that same summer, she set out on a joint concert tour with
Mavis Staples and
Patty Griffin. With universal critical acclaim for her album,
Helm toured for nearly two years, and during breaks continued to run the Midnight Ramble.
Three years later,
Helm left her home and comfort zone of Woodstock, New York for Los Angeles and four days of recording with producer
Joe Henry and his stable of musicians. They were directed not to overthink the songs --
Helm had barely performed any of the tunes leading up to the recording. These sessions forged a fast musical bond between the various collaborators. Although a fine songwriter in her own right,
Helm and
Henry jointly arranged a diverse collection of songs for the record, ranging from
Rod Stewart's "Mandolin Wind" and
Allen Toussaint's "Freedom for the Stallion" to the
Milk Carton Kids' "Michigan." The resulting
This Too Shall Light was issued by Yep Roc on the first day of fall in 2018. In 2021, she returned with
What the Flood Leaves Behind, recorded with
Josh Kaufman (
Taylor Swift,
Craig Finn) at her father's Woodstock studio. ~ Mark Deming