Garth Hudson, Iconic Keyboardist and Last Surviving Member of The Band, Dead at 87

Garth Hudson has died at the age of 87.

The legendary rocker was part of The Band, where he served as a keyboard, saxophone and accordion player. News outlet The Toronto Star reported the news and shared that Hudson had died in his sleep in a nursing home.

The Band rose to fame when they were first known as the Hawks, the backing band for singer Ronnie Hawkins. In 1966 the group struck it big when they supported Bob Dylan during the singer's first-ever tour.

After separating from Dylan, the group went on to change their name to The Band and released several records under that name. They scored several hit albums during their tenure, including their 1969 self-titled album that went Platinum in the United States. Their follow-up record Stage Fright was similarly successful and was certified Gold in the United States. Both were top 10 records in the country.

The Band is most known for their successful singles"The Weight," "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"and "Up on Cripple Creek". They went on to perform their farewell concert in 1976. Band member Richard Manuel died in 1986, Rick Danko died in 1999, Levon Helm died in 2012 and Robbie Robertson died in 2023. Hudson was the last surviving member of the original five members until his death.

In a rare interview from 2003, Hudson spoke about the fact that he never contributed vocally to any of the group's albums.

"It was a job. 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," he said, according to Variety.

Over the last year, several rock icons have passed away, including the former lead singer for Iron Maiden Paul Di'Anno, who died in October 2024 at the age of 66.

The famed producer for the rock band The Who, Shel Talmy, also died last year. He passed away in November at the age of 87.

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The Band, Dead, News