Don Helms: R.I.P

There was a time when I thought country music was beneath contempt. Then I heard Hank Willams and everything changed. I loved Hank from the minute I heard him. It wasn't long before I was soaking up all the Honky Tonk I could find: Ernest Tubb, Lefty Frizzel, Faron Young, then Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and so many others (not to overlook Jerry Lee, who is for my money the greatest country singer of them all). But back to Hank. Any time I listen to him the music sounds fresh, alive, and urgent;and that unforgettable voice--unadorned, harsh, cutting and drenched in the blues. And Don Helm's steel guitar was the perfect foil.

The Helms tone -- piercing and stark -- was completely distinctive and thankfully devoid of the syrupy, bathetic sound of so much steel guitar. It was ideally suited to Hank and the Drifting Cowboys. And while I'm at it, the sound of the Drifting Cowboys itself is under-appreciated. The jazzy guitar, driving acoustic rhythm and Helms's steel guitar codified an unforgettable, genre-defining sound. In their own way, and in the country genre, the Cowboys were just as perfect an ensemble as, say, Little Walter's Jukes, Muddy's early bands, Django's groups with Grappelli, even Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie's early bands (I am partial to the sessions with Big Sid Catlett on drums, but it's hard to argue with Max Roach).

But back to Don Helms. I was saddened to hear of his passing today. R.I.P Don and say hi to Hank for me.
Times Obituary