American Son

American Son is a Country Rock album by American musician Levon Helm, who is most famous for his work as drummer for rock group The Band. It was released in October 1980 on MCA Records, and was Helm's third studio album. This album was generally considered Levon Helm's best solo work until the release of Dirt Farmer in 2007. Helm played the part of Loretta Lynn's father in 1980 film Coal Miner's Daughter, and was asked to record a version of Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon of Kentucky" for the film's soundtrack. The session went well, and producer Fred Carter, Jr. decided to cut more tracks. Using a band of veteran Nashville session players, Carter & Helm recorded 20 tracks over 2 weeks, half of which ended up on American Son.