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04/19/2012 04:51 PM

Levon Helm, "The Band" Singer-Drummer, Dies At 71

By: NY1 News

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Rock singer and drummer Levon Helm, who is best known for performing with The Band, passed away of cancer in Manhattan on Thursday.

Helm, 71, died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center after a long battle with throat cancer.

The Band started out backing Bob Dylan in the mid-1960s.

The roots rock band became famous on their own after the release of their debut album "Music From The Big Pink" in 1968.

Helm was first diagnosed with throat cancer in the late 1990s.

Despite his illness, Helm continued to sing on albums and at concerts held in his Woodstock home upstate.

The Band was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.