About the Book
The life of the legendary drummer and singer is explored through extensive research and personal interviews with family, friends, and fellow musicians.
In the Arkansas Delta, a young Levon Helm witnessed "blues, country, and gospel hit in a head-on collision," as he put it. The result was rock 'n' roll. As a teenager, he joined the raucous Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks, then helped merge a hard-driving electric sound with Bob Dylan's folk roots, and revolutionized American rock with the Band. Helm not only provided perfect "in the pocket" rhythm and unforgettable vocals, he was the soul of The Band.
Levon traces a rebellious life on the road, from being booed with Bob Dylan to the creative cauldron of Big Pink, the Woodstock Festival, world tours, The Last Waltz, and beyond with the man Dylan called "one of the last true great spirits of my or any other generation."
Author Sandra B. Tooze digs deep into what Helm saw as a devastating betrayal by his closest friend, Band guitarist Robbie Robertson--and Levon's career collapse, his near bankruptcy, and the loss of his voice due to throat cancer in 1997. Yet Helm found success in an acting career that included roles in Coal Miner's Daughter and The Right Stuff. Regaining his singing voice, he made his last decade a triumph, opening his barn to the Midnight Rambles and earning three Grammys.
About the Author :
Sandra B. Tooze garnered world-wide acclaim for her book Muddy Waters: Mojo Man. Eric Clapton wrote the foreword, and Levon Helm and Mick Jagger both endorsed it with back-cover quotes. The reviewer for America's preeminent blues magazine, Living Blues, called it a "first rate biography. . . . An illumination and a joy, it deserves a place on our shelves as a loving and earnest tribute to one of the greats of American music." On Britain's BBC radio, her book was described as "terrific. . . . and absolutely great." And in the UK's premier music magazine, Mojo, it was praised as "a vivid, brilliantly researched portrait." She currently resides in British Columbia, Canada.
Review :
ACCLAIM FOR MUDDY WATERS: THE MOJO MAN "An original and fascinating biography on my favorite blues singer."--Mick Jagger
"I believe Muddy became one of the most significant links between early Afro-American culture and . . . modern rock 'n' roll.... His music changed my life, and whether you know it or not, . . . it probably changed yours, too."--Eric Clapton, from the Foreword
"Sandra B. Tooze has hit a grand-slam home-run with Muddy Waters: The Mojo Man. . . . Every blues fan the world over must have a copy of this extraordinary book on an extraordinary man. The most important piece of blues journalism of the last (and probably the next) ten years."--Real Blues magazine
"An essential read for anyone interested in the music of Muddy Waters and the development of the post-war Chicago blues scene."--Phil Wight, Blues & Rhythm magazine
"Boy, this is the easiest piece of readin' I've done in some time. It almost reads itself . . . that's how good it is. It feels like Muddy's right in the room with ya'. Every school library in the country should have a copy of this book."--Levon Helm
"I loved the Muddy Waters book. It's great. . . . This is the ultimate book of Muddy Waters."--Dana Gillespie, BBC Radio
"It really is a terrific book, and well worth having. . . . It's absolutely great."--Paul Jones, BBC Radio
"Sandra B. Tooze does Muddy's heroic story justice with research of the highest academic standards and plain, heartfelt writing."--Phil Sutcliffe, Q magazine
"A vivid, brilliantly researched portrait."--Neil Adams, Mojo magazine
"Please convey to Sandra my delight in reading the book. I found it to be accurate and very gracefully written. . . . A fine piece of work on a great man whose memory I will treasure always. Once again, please convey my kudos to Ms. Tooze for a job very well done."--Jerry Portnoy, former member of Muddy Waters's Band
"Outstanding . . . compelling portrait of a blues pioneer. . . . Muddy Waters: The Mojo Man will be enthusiastically received by all of his fans and appreciated for its detail by students of American popular music in general, and the blues in particular."--The Midwest Book Review "This is a very well-researched book that is essential for anyone interested in knowing more about one of the greatest bluesmen of all time, Muddy Waters."--John Hammond
"This handsome, glossy softback is nothing but a must on any real blues fan's Christmas list. . . . Cliche or not, this is a five-star labor of love, a great work of reference, a fascinating story and, above all, a thing of beauty. . . . Thank you, Ms. Tooze."--Roy Bainton, Ready! magazine
"Splendid and essential."--Juke Blues magazine
"I was amazed and delighted at all the new information about Muddy. Reading this book brought him back into my mind . . . bigger than ever!"--Marshall Chess
"Tooze's mojo was definitely working when she wrote this beautifully crafted biography on one of the greatest and most influential bluesmen of all time. . . . This book is a must for all fans of Chicago blues."--Al Lerman, Maple Blues magazine
"I would like to thank you for writing this book and the fine job you did telling my father's story."--Muddy's son, Big Bill Morganfield
"An amazingly good read, which you can mine for its factual content as well as for the interesting anecdotes and recollections, which abound. . . . As a blues DJ, I have found this book invaluable. . . .Tooze really makes Muddy come to life. . . . She crafts a wealth of published interviews and recollections into a book worthy of a place on every blues fan's shelf."--Mike Garner, Amazon.com
"Excellent interviews . . . . make the book a valuable resource for musicologists, blues historians and aficionados . . . . This book contains a trove of well-researched, evocatively presented particulars on Muddy Waters's life and career."--Joseph Bucolo, Blues Beat magazine
"A first-rate biography . . . Sandra Tooze shows an admirable grasp of the music and the history of the legendary bluesman . . . Tooze offers glimpses of the Muddy Waters most of his latter-day fans never got to see . . . Some of the new perspectives on Muddy are startling . . . Muddy's life and career are illustrated with a combination of telling anecdotes and vivid imagery . . . Tooze traces this history with a fine eye for detail, adding some new twists on old stories . . . Tooze provides us with some prescient observations on the growth and development of Muddy's music through the years . . . Tooze is a good writer with a sharp eye for detail . . . An illumination and a joy, it deserves a place on our shelves as a loving and earnest tribute to one of the greats of American music."--Living Blues magazine
"I loved your book. You really captured my husband."--Marva Morganfield, Muddy's widow
""Levon Helm put his heart and soul into every beat he played, every song he sang. He brought joy to people all over the world by sharing the unique blend of musical styles he grew up with in the Arkansas Delta. Along the way, he became a good actor, too! I'm glad his story is getting the telling it deserves."
--President Bill Clinton
"I was honored to have performed with Levon Helm, a master musician who tapped into an astonishing array of genres within American music and possessed one of its greatest voices. In this captivating biography, Sandra B. Tooze channels the creativity, drive, and endurance of this iconic artist. Filled with fresh insights and anecdotes, Levon is a fascinating exploration of the man, his music, and his life."
--Vince Gill, Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and musician
"Sandra Tooze has not only written the definitive biography of Levon Helm, but she's also written an outstanding life-story of modern American music, encompassing all of the colorful characters that Levon Helm met along the way. Levon embodied the evolution of blues, rockabilly, country and folk that meant so much to so many, defined the soundtrack of my life, and inspired a generation. Levon Helm was a musician's musician. This book is a must-read musical odyssey of a true hero of rock and roll."
?Steve Katz, founding member of Blood, Sweat, and Tears; author of Blood, Sweat, and My Rock 'n' Roll Years
"All true fans of Americana know that the late Levon Helm was a masterful drummer and one of our most distinctive singers. But author Sandra B. Tooze offers a brilliant road map covering how he became one of the towering figures in 20th century music. Ride shotgun as she follows Helm's wild exploits--from early Sixties cult hero with the Hawks to playing stadiums with Bob Dylan and the Band. This is the story of rock and roll."
--Brad Tolinski, author of Play It Loud: An Epic History of the Style, Sound and Revolution of the Electric Guitar and Light & Shade: Conversations with Jimmy Page
"Levon Helm went from Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, to Bob Dylan's first electric tour, Woodstock, and the Last Waltz. And that's only scratching the surface of where author Sandra Tooze takes us as she deftly tells the story of a modern music icon. Levon brilliantly puts readers behind the scenes of many of the most important moments in rock 'n' roll history with a man whose influence on them was immense."
?John Glatt, author of Live at the Fillmore East and West: Getting Backstage and Personal with Rock's Greatest Legends
"I thought I knew a lot about my old friend Levon Helm, but Sandra Tooze has captured all the nitty-gritty details of the life and times of the man who was, arguably, the most soulful and beloved drummer/singer in the history of rock 'n' roll. From Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, to Woodstock, New York, this rollicking, raunchy, riveting account of Levon's life and times takes us on a wild journey that is exhilarating and heartbreaking in equal measure."
--Happy Traum, folk musician, Woodstock, New York
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