I'm sadder than you can possibly know...

"Don’t send me no distant salutations,

Or silly souvenirs from far away.

Don’t leave me alone in the twilight,

Twilight is the loneliest time of day.

Don’t put me in a frame upon the mantel,

For memories turn dusty, old, and grey.

Don’t leave me alone in the twilight,

Twilight is the loneliest time of day"

American music treasure and touchpoint of my growin'-up years, Levon Helm, lost his fight with cancer this morning in New York City.

I'm in total mourning y'all. I'll just be here in the corner listening to The Band and tearing up. You will be greatly missed sir.

But can we talk about this awesome photo to the right here, that I found online? Levon Helm with the wacky hat, sheepskin coat barely on his shoulders, holding a VOLLEYBALL?! I don't know, you guys. But I love it.

"...I sacrificed to make you happy, kept nothing for myself..."

"...Now you want to leave me for the love of someone else. My pride is all gone; whether I'm right or wrong. I need you baby, girl, to keep on keepin' on. And you know I tried to do my best, you know I tried to do my best - don't do it. Don't you break my heart. Please, don't do it, don't you break my heart."

I know that he's been sick for some time, but it still came as a serious blow yesterday to hear that Levon Helm, one of our greatest music treasures, is in the final stages of his battle with throat cancer.

My love of The Band, and particularly my love of Levon Helm, has been a part of my DNA since my 1970s childhood. Music From Big Pink, Northern Lights-Southern Cross, and The Last Waltz were played and sung constantly in my house by my mother and her friends. The music of The Band also had a huge impact on my college years at the University of Miami. Shared love of this music and these men shaped and cemented life-long close friendships with people that I love and treasure more decades later.

Levon Helm is an amazing drummer; but it's his voice, especially on songs like "The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down" and "Don't Do It", that has always touched my soul. 

I don't know what I'm going to do when the inevitable happens. But you can bet that it's going to involve me pouring a beer and singing "Acadian Driftwood" at the top of my lungs.