Levon Helm, singer and drummer for The Band, passed away at 71, after battling throat cancer. Rolling Stone has a nice obituary up already. And as with the death of any great musician, we take it as opportunity to revisit some great music. Here's our favorite:

Update 4:28 p.m.: Several other great obituaries are cropping up out there, including:

NPR's Will Hermes, who writes: "Watching him, it was easy to believe his mighty groove and massive grin could burn off any disease. For a while, it seemed, it did. Tehy al

The New York Times's Jon Pareles writes: "In Mr. Helm’s drumming, muscle, swing, economy and finesse were inseparably merged. His voice held the bluesy, weathered and resilient essence of his Arkansas upbringing in the Mississippi Delta."

Greg Kot reports in the Chicago Tribune: "Helm was 'the only drummer who could make you cry,' critic Jon Carroll once wrote."

Jerry Shriver in USA Today writes of his voice: "It was the sound of the lusty wildcat, the stern Southern preacher, the depleted Confederate soldier, the dirt farmer at the end of his day."

And another good video, via NPR:

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