“Helm lays it all bare in vivid, impassioned prose, adding an earthly, backwoods tone that makes the book read like a Southern novel, like Thomas Wolfe writing about rock ’n’ roll.” —Boston Globe “One of the most insightful and intelligent rock bios in recent memory.” —Entertainment Weekly The Band, who backed Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965 and then turned out a half-dozen albums of beautifully crafted, image-rich songs, is now regarded as one of the most influential rock groups of the '60s. But while their music evoked a Southern mythology, only their Arkansawyer drummer, Levon Helm, was the genuine article. From the cotton fields to Woodstock, from seeing Sonny Boy Williamson and Elvis Presley to playing for President Clinton, This Wheel’s on Fire replays the tumultuous history of our times in Levon’s own unforgettable folksy drawl. This edition is expanded with a new epilogue covering the last dozen years of Levon's life. Levon Helm (1940-2012) met Ronnie Hawkins at the age of 17 and formed what would soon become The Band. He maintained a successful career as a singer and actor until his death. Stephen Davis is the author of Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga; More Room in a Broken Heart: The True Adventures of Carly Simon; Old Gods Almost Dead: The 40-Year Odyssey of the Rolling Stones; Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend; Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith; and others.

本書は単なる音楽自叙伝の枠を超え、深南部アメリカの土着的な香りを湛えた極上のサザン・ゴシック文学のような趣を放っています。レヴォン・ヘルムの語り口は、綿花地帯の埃っぽさや泥臭いブルースの魂をそのまま文字に定着させたかのようで、彼こそがザ・バンドという神話における唯一の真正な血肉であったことを証明しています。 栄光と挫折、そして共同体の崩壊を描く筆致はあまりに情熱的で、読者はロックンロールの光芒とともに、失われゆく古き良きアメリカの精神性を追体験することになるでしょう。血の通った言葉で綴られる誠実な告白は、音楽を愛する者のみならず、魂の居場所を求めるすべての表現者に深く突き刺さる、重厚な人間ドラマを提示しています。