( CNN ) -- Within hours of the announcement that Levon Helm was in the final stages of cancer , fans flooded his Facebook page with messages of support and fond recollections of the drummer and backbone of The Band . By early Wednesday , more than 7,000 comments were posted . `` Truly one of our greatest musicians , '' said Kip Millwee . `` May he find his way absent of pain and in an ocean of peace . '' `` We 'll keep dancing to your beat , '' posted Joan Gummels . `` Thanks for all the good times . '' `` When I had the privilege to feel your energy at the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival ... You rocked my world , '' Courtney Anne Steeves said . `` Keep on shining . '' Some fans shared memories from decades past . `` I was at Woodstock and heard you play ! '' Sarah James recalled . `` It was so marvelous and a memory I will have till I leave this earth . '' Helm 's wife , Sandy , and daughter Amy posted a message to the artist 's website regarding his condition on Tuesday . `` Please send your prayers and love to him as he makes his way through this part of his journey , '' his wife , Sandy , and daughter Amy wrote in a message posted to the artist 's website . `` Thank you fans and music lovers who have made his life so filled with joy and celebration ... he has loved nothing more than to play , to fill the room up with music , lay down the back beat , and make the people dance ! He did it every time he took the stage , '' they said . During an induction speech Saturday at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , Helm 's former bandmate Robbie Robertson offered his `` prayers and love '' for the drummer . Born in Elaine , Arkansas , in 1940 , the son of a cotton farmer , Helm rose to fame in the late 1960s and 1970s as a member of The Band , a folk rock group . His soulful , drawling vocals highlighted many of the group 's hit recordings , such as `` The Weight , '' `` The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down , '' and `` Up on Cripple Creek . '' Helm , 71 , was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998 . He fell on hard times as cancer took his voice and medical bills threatened his house . `` You got to pick one -- pay your medical bills or pay the mortgage . Most people ca n't do both , and I 'm not different , '' he told CNN in 2010 . So The Barn , as the residence is known around Helm 's adopted hometown of Woodstock , New York , became the setting for what he called a `` last celebration . '' Not quite . Instead , The Barn became the center of an unlikely and unrivaled rock ' n ' roll revival . It was there that Helm regularly hosted the Midnight Ramble , weekly concerts that attracted sell-out crowds and all-star support from the likes of Emmylou Harris , Kris Kristofferson and Steely Dan 's Donald Fagen . The result not only paid the bills but also led to a creative resurgence for Helm , with his collaborations producing back-to-back Grammy-winning albums : 2007 's `` Dirt Farmer '' and 2009 's `` Electric Dirt . '' `` If I had my way about it , we 'd probably do it every night , '' Helm said . `` I never get tired of it . '' CNN 's Dana Ford , John Branch and Todd Leopold contributed to this report .
Fans flock to his Facebook page to share stories . His family asks for him as Helm , 71 , ` ` makes his way through this part of his journey '' He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998 . The former drummer rose to fame in the late 1960s and 1970s ; fell on hard times in life .