Garth Hudson, one of the two keyboardists, and occasionally the saxophonist, of the group known simply as The Band, has died at the age of 87. He passed in his sleep Tuesday morning at a nursing home in Woodstock, New York

Born in Windsor, Ontario on April 2nd, 1937
A schooled musician, he played organ, piano, accordion and saxophone.
Most associated with the Lowery organ, which he played throughout his career.
Joined The Hawks, the backing band for rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins, in 1962.
Stayed with them after they left Hawkins in 1964 as they became Bob Dylan's backing group in 1965.
Played on all 10 Band studio and three live albums released between 1968 and 1999, plus two Bob Dylan studio and two live albums.
In this century, he released two albums, a live duo album with his wife, Maud, and produced a Band tribute album with vocals from an all-Canadian cast of singers.
Entered an assisted living facility in upstate New York in early 2022.

Eric Garth Hudson was born August 2nd, 1937 in Windsor, Ontario. A schooled musician, after playing in a few other Ontario bands Hudson joined The Hawks, the mostly Canadian quintet who served as the backing band for rockabilly artist Ronnie Hawkins from 1957 through '64. The last member to join, Hudson signed on in 1962 under the condition that they buy him a Lowery organ and pay him an extra $10 per week to give the other members music lessons.

Already bearded and balding, he was three years older than drummer Levon Helm and six years older than the other three members -- guitarist Robbie Robertson, bassist Rick Danko and pianist Richard Manuel.

In 1965 they were recommended to Bob Dylan when he was looking for a backing group for his first tour playing electrified rock and roll. After being billed as "Bob Dylan and the Band" on posters for his 1966 tour, The Hawks (also known for a short time as Levon and the Hawks) would become known simply as The Band.

While working with Dylan, who was living in Woodstock, New York at the time, The Band purchased a pink house in nearby Saugerties, which they called Big Pink. It was there that they and Dylan recorded the demos that would become known as The Basement Tapes. Hudson served as recording engineer for them, which basically meant setting up the mics and turning the two-track tape recorder on and off. The tapes would remain unreleased until some of them came out on a double album in 1975.

In 1968, after almost changing their name to The Crackers, The Band recorded their debut album, Music From Big Pink. It was critically acclaimed and sold reasonably well, as did its self-titled follow up, and they became one of the most widely admired and influential acts of the late '60s and the '70s, credited with moving rock away from screaming psychedelia toward something more rootsy, which today would be known as Americana.

Hudson's contribution to this sound was huge, whether it was on the organ-heavy "Chest Fever," the ragtime piano showcase "Rag Mama Rag," piano on The Band's best known song "The Weight," accordion for "Rockin' Chair" and "When I Paint My Masterpiece," or on saxophone for "Tears of Rage," "Unfaithful Servant" and "Ophelia." His extended improvised Lowery organ solo, "The Genetic Method," served as the opening for "Chest Fever" at nearly all The Band's shows.

After The Band broke up following The Last Waltz concert in 1976, he did session work. The group reformed without Robbie Robertson in 1983, and Hudson would tour and record with them through their breakup in 1999.

In 2001, he released his first solo album, The Sea to the North. He would spend the rest of his life as a solo artist, a duo act with his wife, Maud (whom he'd married in the late 1970s) and as a session musician. In 2010, he produced the tribute album Garth Hudson Presents: A Canadian Celebration of the Band with nearly a dozen prominent Canadian artists, including Neil Young and Cowboy Junkies.

Among Hudson's honors as a member of The Band were induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Juno Awards Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Canada's Walk of Fame and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He also became a member of the Order of Canada, the country's second highest individual honor.

In early 2022, Hudson was moved to an assisted living facility in upstate New York. In late February 2022, his wife, Maud, passed away. They had no children.

Hudson is the last member of original incarnation of The Band to die following:

Richard Manuel - suicide in 1986
Rick Danko - heart failure in 1999
Levon Helm - cancer in 2012
Robbie Robertson - cancer in 2023

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