Remembering Garth Hudson, The Band’s Last Original Member: ‘Cornerstone of the Group’s Timeless Sound’
The organist was the only member of the group to never sing live on stage—here’s why
Organist Eric “Garth” Hudson of rock group The Band, died on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, at age 87. He was the last surviving member of the original 1960s and ‘70s group. Hudson was also the only member of The Band to never sing on stage. We look back at why this was the case and how Hudson grew to become one of the most well-known organists of all time.
Garth Hudson’s early career: from The Hawks to Bob Dylan
Born in 1937 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada as Eric Hudson, the late organist always had a love for music.
At the very beginning of his career, Hudson could be found in singer Ronnie Hawkins’ backup band, The Hawks. Hudson also performed with Bob Dylan in 1966 on his first-ever tour and even worked as a recording engineer for the album The Basement Tapes—which Dylan wrote and recorded after having to cut his 1966 tour short due to a motorcycle accident.
“The typewriter would be there, and Bob would tap on it for a while, and then someone would go downstairs to check the equipment, and then finally everyone would go down the pink stairs [to record more demos],” Hudson said in 2014, of the recording process.
Soon after that, Hudson left Dylan’s band, joined The Band, and released his first-ever album with them in 1968.
How Garth Hudson helped shape The Band’s signature sound
The Band’s 1968 debut album “Music from Big Pink” received national acclaim for its blend of rock, folk, country, blues, classical, soul and R&B. It was because of this that The Band soon skyrocketed to fame and released yet another genre-bending album in 1969. It was eponymously named “The Band.”
On both albums, Hudson can be heard on the organ and occasionally on the saxophone. He also is credited with writing a lot of the songs, which he claims is the reason he never sang them on stage.
“It was a job,” the late musician said in 2003. “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.”
In total, The Band released 10 studio albums, 33 singles, nine live albums and nine compilation albums. They also released two live albums and two studio albums with Dylan. The group is the only band in history to be inducted into both the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame—which they were inducted into in 1994.
Garth Hudson’s solo career and enduring legacy
Following his departure from The Band, Hudson went on to release several solo songs and albums. He also filed for bankruptcy protection several times in the early 2000s, which his lawyer Michael Pinsky said was a result of “the death of former partner Rick Danko,” in December 1999 after a long battle with drugs and alcohol.
In 2019, Hudson was named a Member of the Order of Canada for “his unique musical contributions and for his mentorship of many emerging artists over the past 60 years.”
His former students include Levon Helm, a former member of The Band.
“Just having Garth as a teacher was an honor,” Helm wrote in his memoir This Wheel’s on Fire. “He’d listen to a song on the radio in the Cadillac and tell us the chords as it went along. Complicated chord structures? No problem. Garth would figure them out, and we found ourselves able to play anything.”
Garth Hudson’s personal life and death
At some point throughout his life, Hudson married a woman named Maud Hudson and remained with her until she died in 2022. However, the details surrounding their relationship remain unclear. The couple had no children.
Hudson died in his sleep on January 21, 2025, at age 87. The Band’s official Instagram page confirmed his passing.
“Today, we sadly say goodbye to Garth ‘Honey Boy’ Hudson, the last living original member of The Band,” The caption read. “A musical genius and cornerstone of the group’s timeless sound.
“Garth once said, ‘I found some true enjoyment in helping people get to the bottom of their feelings.’ Through his music, he did just that—helping us all feel more deeply and connect to something greater.”
May Garth Hudson rest in peace.
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