Introduction
Amy Helm (born December 3, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and daughter of The Band drummer Levon Helm and singer Libby Titus. She is a past member of the Levon Helm's Midnight Ramble Band and Ollabelle, as well as her own touring band.
Her debut solo album, Didn’t It Rain, was released in July 2015, and her second release This Too Shall Light was released September 2018 on Yep Roc Records.
Helm conducted an in-depth interview about her life and career with The Pods & Sods Network in 2016.That year she and her band performed at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival.
Early life
Helm was born in Woodstock, New York, United States, and spent her childhood between Woodstock, Los Angeles, and New York City.She attended Trinity High School where she studied jazz with Dr. Aaron Bell, while singing in bands, playing in New York City clubs and bars.
Music career
In 1999, Helm joined her father in his blues band The Barn Burners.They toured the country playing traditional blues music.
In 2001, she was a co-founding member of alt-country ensemble Ollabelle.Ollabelle toured and recorded for 10 years, releasing three critically acclaimed albums, Ollabelle (2004), Riverside Battle Songs (2006), and Neon Blue Bird (2011).
In 2004, she and her father built the Midnight Ramble concerts at his home in Woodstock, NY.The concerts began as a rent party and grew into a Woodstock institution, featuring artists such as Emmylou Harris, Allen Toussaint, Elvis Costello, Phil Lesh, and many others.
Growing out of the midnight rambles, Levon Helm recorded his first album in 25 years, Dirt Farmer, which was produced by Amy and Larry Campbell.Dirt Farmer went on to win the Grammy award for Best Traditional Folk Album in February 2008.In 2009, they recorded Electric Dirt, which won the first ever Grammy award for Best Americana Album, an inaugural category, in 2010.She also was a part of the live album Ramble At The Ryman, recorded in 2008 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN. This album won the 2012 Grammy award for Best Americana Album.
Helm has extensive credits as a background vocalist and whistler on records by artists such as Steely Dan, Mercury Rev, Linda Thompson, William Bell, Rich Robinson, and Rosanne Cash.
In 2015, she released her first solo album, Didn’t It Rain which featured her father Levon Helm’s last recorded drum performances. The album also featured members of the Midnight Ramble Band and Amy’s touring band, as well as other players and singers such as John Medeski, Bill Payne, and Catherine Russell.
In 2017, Amy recorded her second album with producer Joe Henry in Los Angeles.The album features musicians Doyle Bramhall II, Tyler Chester, Jen Condos, and Jay Bellerose, as well as a background vocal section consisting of Allison Russell, JT Nero, and Adam Minkoff.The album, entitled This Too Shall Light, was released on September 21, 2018 on Yep Roc Records. The album's title track premiered on Rolling Stone Country.
Amy currently tours year round with her own band and continues to perform and produce concerts at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, the home of the Midnight Ramble.
Personal life
She currently resides in Woodstock, New York.
Appearance Discography
- 1980 – Various Artists: In Harmony – A Sesame Street Record
- 1993 – Donald Fagen – Kamakiriad
- 1998 – Mercury Rev – Deserter's Songs
- 1998 – The Band – Jubilation
- 1998 – Levon Helm & The Crowmatix – Souvenir, Vol. 1
- 2000 – Steely Dan – Two Against Nature
- 2001 – Mercury Rev – All Is Dream
- 2002 – Shivaree – Rough Dreams
- 2002 – Christine Lavin – I Was In Love With A Difficult Man
- 2003 – Ivo – All In All
- 2004 – Ollabelle – Olabelle
- 2004 – Trans-Siberian Orchestra – The Lost Christmas Eve
- 2004 – Sean Costello – Sean Costello
- 2004 – Kenny White – Symphony In 16 Bars
- 2004 – Eugene Ruffolo – The Hardest Easy
- 2004 – Jay Collins Band – Poem For You Today
- 2005 – Laura Cantrell – Humming By The Flowered Vine
- 2005 – Shivaree – Who’s Got Trouble?
- 2005 – Liz Tormes – Limelight
- 2005 – The Levon Helm Band – The Midnight Ramble Sessions Vol .2
- 2006 – Chris Smither – Leave The Light On
- 2006 – Ollabelle – Riverside Battle Songs
- 2006 – Donald Fagen – Morph The Cat
- 2006 – John Flynn – Two Wolves
- 2007 – Levon Helm – Dirt Farmer
- 2007 – The Holmes Brothers – State Of Grace
- 2007 – The Alexis P. Suter Band – Live At The Midnight Ramble
- 2008 – Donna The Buffalo – Silverlined
- 2008 – Arlen Roth – Toolin’ Around Woodstock
- 2008 – Ollabelle – Before This Time
- 2008 – Helm, Hudson & McCoy – Angels Serenade
- 2009 – Levon Helm – Electric Dirt
- 2009 – Ben Sidran – Dylan Different
- 2010 – Elizabeth Mitchell – Sunny Day
- 2011 – Blackie And The Rodeo Kings – Kings And Queens
- 2011 – Matt Andersen – Coal Mining Blues
- 2011 – Ollabelle – Neon Blue Bird
- 2011 – Various Artists – The Lost Notebooks Of Hank Williams
- 2011 – Levon Helm – Ramble At The Ryman
- 2011 – Ninni Poijärvi & Mika Kuokkanen – Powderburn
- 2013 – Linda Thompson – Won’t Be Long Now
- 2013 – Various Artists – Love For Levon: A Benefit To Save The Barn
- 2014 – Rosanne Cash – The River & The Thread
- 2014 – The Levon Helm Band – It’s Showtime: The Midnight Ramble Sessions, Vol. 3
- 2014 – Matt Andersen – Weightless
- 2014 – Marcia Ball – The Tattooed Lady And The Alligator Man
- 2014 – Danielia Cotton – The Real Book
- 2015 – Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams – Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams
- 2015 – The Mike & Ruthy Band – Bright As You Can
- 2015 – Tracy Bonham – Wax & Gold
- 2015 – Amy Helm – Didn’t It Rain
- 2015 – Colin Linden – Rich In Love
- 2016 – William Bell – This Is Where I Live
- 2017 – Various Artists – Treasure Of The Broken Land: The Songs Of Mark Heard
- 2018 - Amy Helm - This Too Shall Light