May God bless you and your...
May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.
Tony Bishop
December 03, 2021 | Talladega, AL
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Obituary
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Don Helms, a renowned steel guitarist who played in Hank Williams' Drifting Cowboys band and on country classics by Patsy Cline and Lefty Frizzell, has died of an apparent heart attack. He was 81.
Helms died Monday in Nashville at Skyline Medical Center, said Michael Thomas, a director at Forest Lawn Funeral Home.
Helms, of New Brockton, Ala., was an original member of Williams' Drifting Cowboys and provided the signature steel guitar parts on tunes like "Cold, Cold Heart" and "Your Cheatin' Heart."
After Williams' death in 1953, Helms played on Cline's "Walkin' After Midnight," Frizzell's "Long Black Veil" and many other songs.
"The sound of Helms' precise yet bluesy steel guitar (on Williams' recordings) helped usher in a honky-tonk sound that would define country music for years to come," the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum said in announcing a program honoring Helms in 2006.
Helms had played with Williams in local Alabama venues in the early 1940s, the museum's profile said. His career was interrupted by Army service, and he eventually rejoined Williams' Drifting Cowboys in 1949, when Williams had become a star on the Grand Ole Opry.
Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press
Guest Book
Thank you for the joy, the delight, the adventure.
John Onsrud
January 16, 2021 | Union Grove, NC
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You will be missed
Faye Goree
August 12, 2020 | Friend
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I was absolutely honored to Meet two of my heroes at the same time,, Don Helms and Jerry Rivers at the Gilmer County fairgrounds in West Virginia,, the were touring with Hanks daughter Jett,, What an incredible meeting for me,, Being the fan I am,, and have always been,, Hank Williams music wouldn't have been what it waswithout Don,, nor would Don have been without Hank,, I learned of his passing through Hank Jr's song The Last Drifting Cowboy,, The Steel Guitar could never sound the same...
Roddy Given Jr.
April 04, 2019 | Outlaw Ridge, AR | Friend
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I had always listened to the music of hank Williams being from Montgomery , al but didn't know about Don Helms now I do and I can't wait to meet him in heaven !!
Bart
October 24, 2018
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I loved his steel guitar playing and discovered that he and my great grandfather James Oscar were cousins, both born in New Brockton, Alabama. Condolences and wish the family the best.
April 02, 2018
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I never knew Don Helms but I learned that he was my cousin, much older than me. My mother was Irma Helms, from New Brockton, AL. It's quite something to learn your relative was a legend. God bless you, Don.
Greg Ryan
June 06, 2017 | Woodland Hills, CA
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His talent with a steel is like no other. You know who's playing without seeing him. God Bless him
s Foster
March 15, 2017
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Thank you.
Nadya Wall-Rossi
February 04, 2017 | San Diego, CA
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