Garth Hudson, the final surviving authentic member of The Band, has died aged 87.
In accordance with the Toronto Star, Hudson “handed away peacefully in his sleep this morning at a nursing house in Woodstock, New York”.
Born in Windsor, Ontario, Hudson co-founded The Band within the mid-’60s, having beforehand performed with Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Levon Helm in The Hawks.
Though he was best-known for taking part in the Lowrey organ, Hudson additionally performed accordion, saxophone and vary of different devices.
Hudson performed on all 10 of The Band’s studio albums, their two albums with Bob Dylan (The Basement Tapes and Planet Waves) and their dwell albums, together with Rock Of Ages and The Final Waltz.
Talking on this month’s Uncut, Benmont Tench of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers stated, “I’m at all times making an attempt to seize the magic of Garth’s Lowrey organ by myself Hammond… There’s a purity to [The Band’s] artwork, their imaginative and prescient, and you’ll’t overestimate the affect they’ve had on others.”
Hudson additionally loved a profitable profession exterior The Band. His debut solo album The Sea To The North was launched in 2001 and he launched two albums as a member of Flying Burrito Brothers‘ spin-off, Burrito Deluxe with Sneaky Pete Kleinow: 2002’s Georgia Peach and 2004’s The Entire Enchilada.
In 2005, he fashioned his personal 12-piece band, the Greatest!, along with his spouse, Maud. The Hudsons additionally launched a piano-accordion-vocal album, Stay At The Wolf, in 2005.
An in-demand session musician, Hudson additionally labored with Emmylou Harris, Van Morrison and Leonard Cohen and collaborated with many others, together with Mercury Rev on their 1999 album, Deserter’s Songs.
In 2007, Garth and Maud appeared on the 100 Membership in London – you’ll be able to learn Uncut‘s report from the night time by clicking right here.
He continued to work on solo albums by his former colleagues in The Band whereas, in 2010, he produced Garth Hudson Presents: A Canadian Celebration Of The Band, that includes Canadian artists protecting songs that have been recorded by the Band, together with Neil Younger, Cowboy Junkies, Mary Margaret O’Hara and Bruce Cockburn.
Hudson’s final public look was in April, 2023, when he carried out Duke Ellington‘s “Subtle Girl” at a home live performance in Kingston, New York.
