Last surviving member of storied rock group dies at 87

According to an Associated Press story, rock pioneers The Band’s eldest and final living member, Garth Hudson, passed away at the age of 87.

Being the son of musicians, Hudson was formally trained in music from a young age after being born in Windsor, Ontario, in 1937. Before he was a teenager, he penned songs and played live. By his early twenties, he was a member of the rock group the Capers.

As the keyboardist for The Band, Hudson, a multi-instrumentalist with classical training, used the piano, synthesizers, horns, and Lowrey organ to create sounds and genres that gave songs like “Up on Cripple Creek,” “The Weight,” and “Rage Mama Rag” a distinctive feel.

Originally known as the Hawks, the group was founded in the early 1960s as a backup group for Ronnie Hawkins. It consisted of four Canadians—Hudson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, and Robbie Robertson—and American Levon Helm.

After supporting Bob Dylan, the group changed its name because Dylan fans started calling them just the band. As the music straddled the boundaries between folk, country, and Appalachian songs, their library is frequently cited as having established the foundation for roots music and Americana, according to the research.

The principal songwriter and guitarist for the group, Robertson, passed away in 2023. Manuel, a drummer and keyboardist, passed away in 1986. In 1999, bassist Rick Danko passed away. In 2012, drummer Levon Helm also died.

Over the years, Hudson performed with different iterations of The Band and briefly played with the English band the Call. Later, he sat in on sessions and contributed to Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen, and Emmylou Harris’s LPs.

In 1994, the band was admitted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Canadian Press announced Hudson’s passing on Tuesday, citing friend Jan Haust. There were no immediate details provided. According to the article, Hudson had been residing in an upstate New York nursing home.