Levon Helm, longtime singer for The Band, passed away this past Thursday in New York at the age of 71. Helm lost his battle with cancer.
Helm's wife, Sandy, and daughter, Amy, posted a note on his website Tuesday alerting fans and friends that he was in the final stages of cancer.
"Thank you fans and music lovers who have made his life so filled with joy and celebration," the note said. "He has loved nothing more than to play, to fill the room up with music, lay down the back beat, and make the people dance! He did it every time he took the stage."
The Band's former guitarist/songwriter Robbie Robertson, in a statement issued Wednesday, said: "Levon is one of the most extraordinary, talented people I've ever known and very much like an older brother to me. I am so grateful I got to see him one last time and will miss him and love him forever."
Helm was diagnosed in 1998 with throat cancer.
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