The Friday song (on a Sunday): ‘This Too Shall Light’ by Amy Helm

My recent Friday Song about Steely Dan took me down an adjacent tributary this week.  

Posting previously about the children of music royalty, I mentioned Amy Helm, who is the daughter of drummer and vocalist in The Band, Levon Helm, and once-upon-a-time recording artist, Libby Titus.

After Libby and Levon divorced, she married Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen. Amy was in Levon Helm’s “Ramblers” band, became his producer and also grew close to Fagen, providing backing vocals to Steely Dan. She stepped out of both her parents’ and her stepfather’s shadows, though, by releasing her Americana-tinged-with soul solo debut, Didn’t It Rain, in 2015.  

Helm’s second album was This Too Shall Light, released in 2018. Anyone who knows Amy’s dad knows his legendary growl and while Amy’s voice doesn’t possess as much gravel, her voice has a similar, throaty power. The album was produced by the legendary Joe Henry, whose name alone brings a qualitative air before the listening even begins. 

This Too Shall Light’s title track is today’s song, and the title suggests that it may be a sort of opposite of the phrase “This too shall pass”. Its root is gospel and it delivers accordingly, with Henry’s production building from a solid foundation. A damp electric guitar sounds out a “foghorn” warning over an urgent groove to open it up. Funky guitar chords and a barely discernible hi-hat set up Helm’s soulful, gospel roar. Then it’s time for a mixed back organ to move to the foreground to fill out the tune as Helm intones the title, double tracking the vocal. Happy weekend!

Listen to This Too Shall Light by Amy Helm on Spotify here and on Apple Music here.

I started a music WhatsApp group in 2023. I send one song a week on a Friday, with links to both Apple and Spotify, and an accompanying narrative/capsule piece. If you want to engage about a song, get a playlist or just get in touch, email me on markgrosin@gmail.com.

For more of Mark’s excellent picks, go here.

_{Top image: Currency collage.}