Levon Helm, whose gruff vocals and razor-sharp drumming underpinned the seminal late 1960s rock group The Band, has died, aged 71.

Rolling Stone magazine, on its website, said Mr Helm was suffering from throat cancer in New York.

Mr Helm’s long-time guitarist Larry Campbell said he died with dignity with loved ones close by.

Mr Helm had undergone 28 treatments for throat cancer which was first diagnosed in the 1990s.

Rolling Stone reported that his worsening condition had forced him to cancel a number of scheduled concerts.

One of the very few drummers who also sang lead vocals, Mr Helm is best known for such Band tracks as The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, Rag Mama Rag, Up On Cripple Creek and The Weight.

The Arkansas native grew up watching such early rock ‘n’ roll stars as Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis in concert before taking up the drums and, in time, joining rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins’s backing band in 1960.

There he met four Canadian musicians − Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel and Robbie Robertson − with whom he formed a new group that, after several name changes, came to be known as The Band.

Settling into Woodstock, the group famously collaborated with Bob Dylan, honed its own repetoire − influenced by American roots music − and cut a string of albums including Music from Big Pink, The Band and Cahoots.

The Band split up in 1976 with a farewell concert in San Francisco − immortalised by Martin Scorsese in The Last Waltz − leaving Mr Helm to pursue solo projects and to star in a film, Coal Miner’s Daughter.