A documentary on Levon Helm, a founding member of The Band, at home in Woodstock in the midst of creating his first studio album in 25 years. This haunting, personal portrait of music legend Levon Helm evokes the mood of a lifetime spent on the road. The ultimate survivor, he's overcome drugs, bankruptcy, the bitter breakup of The Band and a bout of throat cancer -but then, as the rueful title indicates, he wasn't in it for his health.

"He sang the anthems of a generation: "The Weight," "Up on Cripple Creek," and "Life Is a Carnival." Levon Helm's story--told here through sweeping research and interviews with close friends and fellow musicians--is the rollicking story of American popular music itself. In the Arkansas Delta, a young Levon witnessed "blues, country, and gospel hit in a head-on collision," as he put it. The result was rock 'n' roll. As a teenager, he joined the raucous...