The Band Multi-Instrumentalist Garth Hudson Has Died

The Band multi-instrumentalist has died at age 87.

By Andy Kahn Jan 21, 2025 7:12 am PST

Garth Hudson of The Band has died at age 87. Hudson passed away peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday (January 21) morning at a nursing home in Woodstock, New York, the executor of his estate confirmed to The Star.

Hudson played keyboards, accordion and saxophone as a member of The Band, whose membership included late guitarist Robbie Robertson, bassist Rick Danko, drummer Levon Helm and multi-instrumentalist Richard Manuel. The group was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1994. Garth Hudson was the last living member of The Band.

Born Eric Garth Hudson on August 2, 1937, in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. He moved with his musical parents to London, Ontario in 1940. He took piano lessons from Clifford Von Custer and Miss Nellie Milligan and studied musical theory under the tutelage of Thomas Chattoe. Hudson also played the organ at St. Luke’s Anglican Church.

In 1958, Hudson became a member of Paul London & The Capers, performing with the rock band until 1961. Around that time he was recruited by the Arkansas-based Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks whose membership included Helm, Robertson, Danko and Manuel. In 1963, Hudson and his bandmates ended their relationship with Ronnie Hawkins and set out under the name Levon & The Hawks.

In 1966, Bob Dylan sought out The Hawks to back him on his notorious, electrified 1966 tour. Eventually, the group set up home in a pink house in Upstate New York dubbed Big Pink. At that house, the musicians now calling themselves The Band recorded with Dylan what became known as The Basement Tapes, as well as The Band’s 1968 debut album, Music From Big Pink. The Band continued recording and performing live over the next several years, culminating with their legendary, all-star final concert on Thanksgiving Day 1976 in San Francisco that became the Martin Scorsese-directed concert film, The Last Waltz.

Hudson can be heard playing Clavinet on “Up On Cripple Creek,” saxophone on “Tears of Rage,” accordion on “Rockin Chair,” and piano on “The Weight” and “Rag Mama Rag.” Hudson’s signature song showcasing his Lowery organ playing, “Chest Fever,” was often preceded in concert by Hudson’s lengthy improvised introduction known as the “Genetic Method.”

After The Last Waltz, Hudson and his wife, vocalist/actor Sister Maud, relocated to Malibu, California, where he worked on several soundtracks for feature films as well as sessions for other musicians. In 1978, a wildfire destroyed Hudson’s newly renovated Big Oak Basin Dude Ranch and home studio. The experience informed Hudson’s environmental installation created for the 200th anniversary of the City Of Los Angeles, Music For Our Lady Queen Of The Angels.

Hudson joined some of the original members of The Band for a reunion in 1983 that continued through Danko’s death in 1999 (Richard Manual died by suicide in 1986 and Robertson did not participate in the reunion). During this time, The Band released three additional studio albums, 1993’s Jericho, 1996’s High on the Hog and 1998’s Jubilation.

Hudson’s debut solo album, The Sea to the North, was released on September 11, 2001. Hudson co-produced and contributed to the 2004 Burrito Deluxe album The Whole Enchilada, with Flying Burrito Brothers’ Sneaky Pete Kleinow. Hudson later formed an 11-piece band with his wife. The pair issued the live album, Live at the Wolf, in 2005.

Hudson co-produced and appeared on every track of the 2010 all-star compilation album, Garth Hudson Presents: A Canadian Celebration of the Band. The record featured covers of The Band songs performed by fellow Canadian musicians such as Neil Young.

Over his career, Hudson performed with the likes of Muddy Waters, Emmylou Harris, Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen, Donovan, Roger Waters, Los Lobos, Wilco, Doug Paisley, Norah Jones, Neko Case, The Gipsy Kings, Cyndi Lauper, David Bromberg, the Indigo Girls, Don McLean, Keith Richards, Todd Rundgren, Linda Thompson, The Secret Machines, The Sadies, Evan Dando & The Lemonheads, Sinead O’Connor and scores of others.

Recent years saw Hudson performing with various tributes to The Band and The Last Waltz. In 2017, Hudson appeared onstage with Warren Haynes and others as part of the all-star concert series The Last Waltz 40 Tour: A Celebration Of The 40th Anniversary Of The Last Waltz. Garth Hudson’s final public performance came on April 16, 2023 in Kingston, New York, where he covered Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady.”

Hudson was also an accomplished lecturer who taught master classes in music instruction. During his lifetime, Hudson and The Band were inducted into Canada’s JUNO Hall of Fame and Canadian Walk of Fame as well as earning the Grammy Lifetime of Achievement Award. Hudson was personally honored with the Blues Hall of Fame’s Legendary Blues Artist award, the London Music Awards’ Lifetime of Achievement Award and induction into the New York Blues Hall of Fame.

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