Former Band drummer Levon Helm has been hospitalized in New York for what is being called a cold complicated by his ongoing battle with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). He is expected to be released in the next couple of days.
Word first emerged at his Saturday night Midnight Ramble concert at his home in Woodstock, NY, a regular concert with Helm and guest musicians. His manager, Barbara O'Brien, told the crowd of the situation and the show went on with Helm's chief studio engineer Justin Gulp sitting in.
O'Brien told the crowd "Levon came down with a little bit of a cold this week and because he's got COPD, a little bit of a cold to you and me is a lot more serious for him...We took him to the hospital today. He's going to be fine. He's in the city. He's with his specialist, but he's not going to be here tonight....He is so upset that he can't be here.
"You're the ones who brought him back for the past seven years and we're going to bring him back and he's going to be back and he's going to be back stronger. He wanted me to thank you all from the bottom of his heart."
VIDEO: For some great live music watch Ryan Meeking perform three songs live for Undercover uSessions:
