Eric “Garth” Hudson, the visionary multi-instrumentalist whose masterful organ playing helped define the sound of legendary rock group The Band, died in his sleep on Tuesday morning at a nursing home in Woodstock, according to longtime friend Jan Haust. He was 87 and the last surviving member of The Band.
Born on August 2, 1937, in Windsor, Ontario, and raised in London, Ontario, Hudson revealed his prodigious musical talent early. By age 12, he was already playing professionally with dance bands before attending the University of Western Ontario. His life and career took a pivotal turn in 1961 when Ronnie Hawkins and drummer Levon Helm persuaded him to join a budding rockabilly outfit, later known as The Hawks.
In the mid-1960s, The Hawks joined Bob Dylan for groundbreaking tours and sessions, culminating in the milestone recording of Blonde on Blonde and the controversial “electric” concerts that redefined Dylan’s sound. When Dylan retreated to recuperate from a motorcycle accident near Woodstock in 1966, The Hawks set up a base of operations in the now-iconic “Big Pink” house in West Saugerties, not far from town. There, Hudson rigged a makeshift recording setup in the basement, capturing what would become known as The Basement Tapes. In 1968, the group — by then renamed The Band — issued Music from Big Pink, a debut album that fused gospel, blues, country, and rock. The sound would herald a new genre eventually dubbed “Americana.”
A Woodstock fixture
Although international fame followed, Garth Hudson considered the Woodstock area his artistic home. Local residents recall seeing him around Tinker Street, or quietly reading at the Woodstock Library — always humble, ever thoughtful about the craft of music. Hudson believed the creative energy of the region was vital to his own musical development. He regularly took part in local benefit shows and jam sessions over the decades, including occasional appearances at Levon Helm’s Midnight Rambles.
Hudson and his wife, the singer-actress Maud Hudson, remained closely associated with Woodstock even when professional obligations pulled them elsewhere. While they once owned a ranch in Malibu, California, which was lost to wildfires in 1978, they always considered Woodstock their spiritual center. When The Band re-formed without Robbie Robertson in 1983, Hudson continued to tour and record, appearing on projects with colleagues like Rick Danko and Levon Helm.
The secret weapon
Robbie Robertson once described Hudson as “far and away the most advanced musician in rock ’n’ roll.” Indeed, his astonishing versatility — he performed on piano, accordion, saxophone, French horn, violin, and more — led many to call him The Band’s secret weapon.
Over the years, The Band’s members drifted away one by one. Richard Manuel died in 1986, Rick Danko in 1999, Levon Helm in 2012, and Robbie Robertson in 2023. Hudson stood as the group’s final link to an era that reshaped popular music. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with The Band in 1994, he went on to release a solo album (The Sea to the North) in 2001, appeared on countless other artists’ records, and continued small-scale performances well into his later years. His final public appearance came in April 2023 in Kingston, playing Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady.”
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