Well, I don't have a horse in this race, but I will say both of those articles offer a lot of conjecture, especially the njnnetwork article. I'm sure the truth is somewhere in the middle. It's always a bummer when the parents fight.
Here is Levon Helm's own guitarist, Larry Campbell, on the subject:
The song remains the same, but the debate about credit for The Band’s incredible output continues
When writing the September/October issue’s cover story about Levon Helm’s life and legacy, I chose, for several reasons, not to address in detail the longstanding debate about whether Helm and other Band members were credited properly for their contributions. Like Robbie Robertson, I felt a tribute story wasn’t the place to delve into whether Helm was justified in his belief that he was not given his due, and Robertson had requested that some of his comments about the situation not be used. But he did offer some insights I can repeat, as did producer/band director Larry Campbell, who worked with Helm for the last eight years of his life. I’m providing them now, in Q&A format, in the hope that they shed some light on a complex subject — one that should never overshadow The Band’s collective musical legacy or Helm’s rich contributions to the canon of popular music, then or since.
Campbell, who is intent on keeping Helm’s spirit alive and honoring his wish to continue the Midnight Rambles, offered the following comments:
The breakup of The Band and the longstanding animosity with Robbie and Levon, did he ever discuss any of that with you?
Oh yeah. He had a lot of bitterness about that. My observation was, Levon was 50 percent right and 50 percent wrong. That’s all I could put it into because I wasn’t there. The thing Levon would do, once he got into a frame of mind about something, it was a logic-free zone. There was no changin’ his mind. … [and] I was not in a position to try and make him think otherwise about his experience. My take on it was always that I’m sure there’s plenty of legitimacy to what Levon was bitter about, but that he’s missing something, too; that things could have been different, had he approached the situation differently — that whatever inequity he felt with Robbie, he had some responsibility for that, too. That’s just what I feel about it. Don’t know the facts. All I know is Levon’s side of it.
According to Robbie, he had to take over in some ways, and part of that was because of Levon’s drug use.
Right.
I’m sure it’s easy to block out some of that and think you’re perfectly capable, but people around you may recognize you’re not.
Right. Exactly. I didn’t know Levon in those years and I still don’t know Robbie and I’m hesitant to villainize either one of ’em in this thing because I don’t have the facts. What I can tell you is, I’ve written a few songs with Levon, and writing with Levon, my experience was, he wasn’t gonna do any labor where writing a song is concerned. The songs we’ve co-written, when it came down to constructing the song, that was my job. The thing is, though, like the song ‘Growin’ Trade’ on Electric Dirt, I had pretty much finished that song and brought it to him, to play for him and just get his opinion on it. And then we sat and had a discussion about the subject matter, and just by kicking the stuff around with him, a guy who came from that, from what I was tryin’ to say in the song, I went back and completely rewrote the song. And it was his input that made it a better song. So I had to make him a co-writer on it, because it was a better song because of his input. Now is this what happened with him and Robbie and a lot of those songs that he hadn’t gotten credit for? I don’t know. He seems to think so. He seems to think that his input was ignored in a lot of that stuff. But again, I’m not an authority on that and I don’t want to speak out of turn.
THURSDAY, DEC 8, 2016 06:58 PM EST
Robbie Robertson remembers: “People were screaming and booing and throwing sh*t”
Salon speaks to the Band guitarist about a tour with Dylan, Martin Scorsese and his new memoir "Testimony"
SCOTT TIMBERG
The truth is somewhere between fact and fishin'.
Levon: near to zero writing after the breakup of the band
Larry Campbell: Levon didn't write
Garth Hudson: Those were Robbie's songs
Rick Danko: inconsistent responses, sounds largely like he didn't follow up on getting credit he should have had for a few tunes, but other times says 'those were Robbie's songs'
Levon: splits the band when they back up Dylan, then complains Robbie split the band.
Robbie: Certainly due plenty of songwriting credit.
Under the rules in play at the time, the songwriter got the credit, arrangers did not.
Robbie: More than certainly did not look out for the interests of The Band as a whole. Seems like the guys went to him when they had problems with management, credits on songs, or (John Simon) getting paid. Not sure if he found himself in that position by accident or design.
Robbie: Hosed his bandmates on The Last Waltz (everyone claiming they never saw a dime from the movie, not sure if that includes the soundtrack too).
Robbie, took less drugs and had to deal with more crap at the time.
Robbie: could NOT have been completely aboveboard with everything. Wasn't near to as bad as Frey/Henley.
By today's rules the royalties would most likely been split more fairly with an eye towards keeping The Band together and making music in the long term.
Woulda coulda shouda but it didn't. Probably the worst is old friends fighting with each other, the money works out if that's worked out.
[Edited on 12/9/2016 by WaitinForRain]
It all makes you really appreciate Jim Morrison, who said form the start that all songs wold be credited to "The Doors," no matter who did what because none of them would exist if the four of them weren't making them.
Berry Oakley has no credit on Whipping Post despite by all accounts writing the bassline. At the time that was considered arrangement.
I don't look at it as a pissing contest, I see right and wrong, poverty and wealth, proper and improper. Brotherhood and douchebag. Without Mr. Helm's massive contributions in his vocals alone there would be no "Band" fame or wealth to swindle just a jackass with an ego problem.
Dirt Farmer and Electric Dirt are hands down the best post Band materials with both discs winning Grammy's. The real world knows what's what.
I will share 2 posts that I feel are worth a ponder. Both articles give a little credence to each side. I'm moving on.
http://popdose.com/when-good-albums-happen-to-bad-people-robbie-robertson-robbie-robertson/
those 2 helm albums you mention are exactly why a debate can take place. he has 1 total writing credit on those 2 albums. had he written most of the songs then everything would be more in his favor of getting screwed over in writing credits by robertson.
as far as the best. thats someones and opinion and a grammy doesn't mean its great or bad. remember the grammy committee also thought jethro tull put out the best heavy metal album of the late 80's the year the heavy metal category was started
The truth is somewhere between fact and fishin'.
Levon: near to zero writing after the breakup of the band
Larry Campbell: Levon didn't write
Garth Hudson: Those were Robbie's songs
Rick Danko: inconsistent responses, sounds largely like he didn't follow up on getting credit he should have had for a few tunes, but other times says 'those were Robbie's songs'
Levon: splits the band when they back up Dylan, then complains Robbie split the band.
Robbie: Certainly due plenty of songwriting credit.
Under the rules in play at the time, the songwriter got the credit, arrangers did not.
Robbie: More than certainly did not look out for the interests of The Band as a whole. Seems like the guys went to him when they had problems with management, credits on songs, or (John Simon) getting paid. Not sure if he found himself in that position by accident or design.
Robbie: Hosed his bandmates on The Last Waltz (everyone claiming they never saw a dime from the movie, not sure if that includes the soundtrack too).
Robbie, took less drugs and had to deal with more crap at the time.
Robbie: could NOT have been completely aboveboard with everything. Wasn't near to as bad as Frey/Henley.
By today's rules the royalties would most likely been split more fairly with an eye towards keeping The Band together and making music in the long term.
Woulda coulda shouda but it didn't. Probably the worst is old friends fighting with each other, the money works out if that's worked out.
[Edited on 12/9/2016 by WaitinForRain]
don't forget jim weider has made the same comments as larry campbell
You can play Whipping Post without Berry's bass line but you can't play it without Gregg's melody, so while it might have "nice" in hindsight to put him on there, it didn't merit a credit at the time.
All arrangements by the Allman Brothers Band covers it appropriately.
Levon might have walked away with less money but he had a heck of a good time for a heck of a long time and lived to tell the tale.
