The Band’s Garth Hudson Dead At 87

Garth Hudson, the last surviving member of the Band, has died. Hudson, who played organ, keyboards, accordion, and saxophone in the legendary roots-rock band, died peacefully in his sleep this morning at a nursing home in Woodstock, NY, his estate executor confirmed to the Toronto Star. Hudson was 87.

Hudson was a member of every iteration of the Band, who rose to fame in the 1960s as Bob Dylan’s backing band on projects like The Basement Tapes and released a wealth of their own classic music, particularly their first two albums, 1968’s Music From Big Pink and 1969’s The Band. Their star-studded farewell concert at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom on Thanksgiving 1976 was documented in Martin Scorsese’s 1978 movie The Last Waltz, one of the most iconic concert films in history. Though he rarely sang, his playing unmistakably shaped the voice of one of music’s most legendary units.

Eric “Garth” Hudson was born in 1937 to a pair of musicians in Windsor, Ontario. He grew up with classical piano training from a young age; he also learned the accordion young and played organ in church and at his uncle’s funeral parlor. He was writing songs by age 11 and performing professionally by 12. After a year studying music at the University of Western Ontario, he grew frustrated with classical music and dropped out, beginning his venture into rock ‘n’ roll.

After he joind the London, Ontario band the Silhouettes in 1956, the group relocated to the Windsor/Detroit area, becoming Paul London and the Capers. He played saxophone and piano, but after seeing a Lowrey organ at a show in Detroit, he vowed to get one. The opportunity came in 1961, when Ronnie Hawkins and Levon Helm approached him about joining Hawkins’ backing band, the Hawks. After initially refusing, Hudson joined the band on the condition that Hawkins buy him a Lowrey organ, and that each of the other band members pay him $10 a week for music lessons — a way to justify the move to his parents.

With that, the Hawks lineup that would become the Band was complete, with Helm on drums, Robbie Robertson on guitar, Rick Danko on bass, and Richard Manuel on piano. They parted ways with Hawkins in 1963, performing for a while as Levon And The Hawks, before meeting Dylan in 1965. They soon recorded the single “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?” and by early 1966 were tracking material for Dylan’s sprawling Blonde On Blonde. When not backing Dylan on his 1966 electric tour, they set up shop at a pink house known as Big Pink in West Saugerties, NY near Woodstock, where Dylan often stopped by to collaborate. Those sessions became the widely bootlegged Basement Tapes, which saw official release in 1975.

In 1968, the Band released Music From Big Pink, featuring Hudson’s organ showcase “Chest Fever.” His virtuosic playing was threaded all throughout the album and future Band recordings, including his pioneering use of a clavinet with a wah-wah pedal on “Up On Cripple Creek” from the 1969 self-titled LP, a technique later widely adopted by funk bands. 1969 also saw the Band perform at 1969’s much-mythologized Woodstock festival. Hudson continued to expand his arsenal of instruments as the Band’s discography piled up, even bringing synthesizers into the mix on 1975’s Northern Lights – Southern Cross.

Near the end of the Band’s original run, Hudson married his wife Maud, a fellow musician who often performed with him over the years. After the Band’s original lineup said goodbye with the Last Waltz concert — featuring guest performances from Dylan, Hawkins, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, Mavis Staples, Emmylou Harris, Dr. John, and more — they released one more album, 1977’s Islands. Hudson took on session work for artists including Harris, Morrison, and Leonard Cohen, and composed the music for Our Lady Queen Of The Angels, a 1980 multimedia show commemorating the Los Angeles bicentennial.

The Band reformed without Robertson in 1983. They continued touring and recording after Manuel died by suicide in 1986 and were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1994. After the Band disbanded permanently in 1999, Hudson embarked on various musical ventures. His debut solo album The Sea To The North infamously came out on Sept. 11, 2001. In 2002, he formed Burrito Deluxe with Sneaky Pete Kleinow of the Flying Burrito Brothers. He and Maud also formed the band Best! in this era. Hudson also continued to do session work for artists including Hawkins, Neko Case, the Sadies, the Lemonheads, John Hiatt, and more. In 2010, he played on and co-produced the all-star tribute album Garth Hudson Presents: A Canadian Celebration Of The Band.

Hudson had some financial troubles along the way. He declared bankruptcy multiple times and at one point sold his stake in the Band to Robertson. However, he maintained stability in his personal life, remaining together with Maud until her death in 2022. In 2023, he gave his final public performance, doing a surprise rendition of Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady” at a house show in Kingston, NY, a quiet finale for a remarkable career.

Below, revisit some of Hudson’s music.