Levon Helm Passes Away

"Levon Helm passed peacefully this afternoon. He was surrounded by family, friends and band mates and will be remembered by all he touched as a brilliant musician and a beautiful soul," said a post on the drummer's official Facebook page yesterday.

Friends and fans have been paying tribute to Helm across the internet since his passing.

"He was my bosom buddy friend to the end, one of the last true great spirits of my or any other generation," Bob Dylan wrote on his official website on Thursday. "This is just so sad to talk about. I still can remember the first day I met him and the last day I saw him. We go back pretty far and had been through some trials together. I'm going to miss him, as I'm sure a whole lot of others will too."

Former Band organist Garth Hudson wrote: "I am terribly sad. Thank you for 50 years of friendship and music. Memories that live on with us. No more sorrows, no more troubles, no more pain. He went peacefully to that beautiful marvelous wonderful place. He was Buddy Rich's favorite rock drummer... and my friend. Levon, I'm proud of you."

Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes - who recorded their final album at Helm's studios in Woodstock - wrote "To our dear friend...Thank You for your heart and your soul.”

"RIP Levon Helm - my brother. Thank you for the love, the music and all our memories," said Joe Walsh, who posted this video of the two of them playing together.

The music of Helm and The Band will be remembered forever and their influence on American music can never be underestimated, and they will be forever immortalised in The Last Waltz, arguably the greatest live film ever made.

RIP Levon Helm, 1940-2012