Garth Hudson, Last Surviving Member of The Band, Dies at 87

Source: Variety

By Chris Morris

Garth Hudson, whose fantastical approach to the organ and virtuosity on a panoply of other instruments lent a distinctive touch to the roots-rock of the Canadian-American group the Band, has died, according to the Toronto Star. Hudson “passed away peacefully in his sleep” Tuesday morning at a nursing home in the Band’s longtime home base of Woodstock, New York, the musician’s estate executor confirmed to the publication. He was 87.

Retiring and seldom interviewed, Hudson was the quiet man in the group that began life as the Hawks, Arkansas-born rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins’ backup band, who in 1966 graduated to supporting Bob Dylan on his tumultuous first tour as a rock ‘n’ roll performer.

After woodshedding with Dylan in West Saugerties, N.Y. — where Hudson served as recording engineer for Dylan and the group’s legendary “basement tapes” – the musicians stepped out as the Band on a stunning 1968 debut, “Music From Big Pink.” That album and the self-titled 1969 sequel established them as one of the day’s top rock acts.

In a typically self-effacing, and typically rare, interview with the Canadian magazine Maclean’s in 2003, Hudson – the only Band member who never contributed vocally on stage or on record — minimized his unique accomplishments. “It was a job,” he said. “Play a stadium, play a theater. My job was to provide arrangements with pads underneath, pads and fills behind good poets. Same poems every night.”

Read more: https://variety.com/2025/music/news/garth-hudson-last-member-the-band-dead-1236280162/