Garth Hudson, the Band’s Last Living Member, Dies at 87

[Matt Dillon]

Garth Hudson, the Band‘s genius multi-instrumentalist and careful archivist, has died. He was 87.

The Toronto Star confirmed that he passed away in his sleep this morning at a nursing home in Woodstock, New York. He was the last living member of the Band.

Hudson was born in Windsor, Ontario and raised by a musical family two hours away in London, before Ronnie Hawkins recruited him to join the Hawks, a rockabilly-influenced predecessor to the Band. They later toured with Levon Helm as Levon and the Hawks. Hudson then joined bandmates Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel in backing Bob Dylan as he transitioned from folk to rock. Then the group struck out on their own with a returning Helm.

Garth Hudson, the Band’s Last Living Member, Dies at 87​

[surveyor]

Well damn. All those guys looked older than they were. The video of them singing "Up on Cripple Creek" on the Ed Sullivan show, Garth glances over at Levon Helm while Levon's singing and Garth breaks out into a grin, almost a laugh.

All of em looked like cleaned up hobos brought in to audition for Sullivan.