This Wheel's on Fire

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This article is about the book. For the song of the same title, see This Wheel's on Fire (song).

This Wheel's on Fire is the 1993 autobiography of actor and musician Levon Helm, focusing on his career as a member of the rock group The Band. The book traces Helm's life from his childhood in the deep south through his years as a drummer and singer for The Band, to his struggle to establish a professional identity in the wake of The Band's official end in 1976.

The book is notable for providing readers with an inside look at the evolution of a rock 'n' roll group, as well as for placing the blame for The Band's break-up—among other injustices—on the shoulders of Robbie Robertson, the guitarist for The Band. Among the accusations Helm makes against Robertson is conspiring with record companies to steal song-writing credits from other members of The Band, arranging the group's break-up as a part of a private agenda, and conspiring with The Last Waltz director Martin Scorsese (a personal friend of Robertson's) to make Robertson appear to be the leader and most important member of the group. Helm's bitterness toward Robertson is balanced by his effusive praise of other musicians, especially other members of The Band (even pausing to admire Robertson's stage presence and talent as a guitarist).