Garth Hudson, the last surviving member of The Band, has died at the age of 87. Hudson, who played lowry organ, synthesizer, accordion and woodwind instruments in the legendary roots rock band, passed away peacefully in his sleep this morning. He was admitted to a nursing home in Woodstock, New York by the executor of his estate. toronto star.
Eric Garth Hudson was born on August 2, 1937 in Windsor, Ontario. His parents, Fred James Hudson and Olive Luella Pentland, were both musicians and gave him formal piano training from an early age. Before studying at the University of Western Ontario, Hudson played the organ in his uncle’s funeral home as well as in church. Feeling limited by the rigidity of the classical repertoire (but drawing inspiration from it for his later work), he dropped out, first with local bands Silhouette and Paul London and the Capers. I started playing professionally.
In December 1961, he joined the Hawks, which later became The Band, along with Ronnie Hawkins and Levon Helm. He joined the band, which also featured fellow Canadians Robbie Robertson, Rich Manuel and Rick Danko, on two conditions. One was to buy Raleigh an organ, and the other was to give him music lessons for an additional $10 a week.
Before joining The Band, Hawks served as Bob Dylan’s backing band, performing on his 1966 electric tour and recording songs for The Band. blonde on blonde. Hudson served as engineer on the band’s second collaboration with Dylan. basement tapebefore the group released their debut album. music from big pinkThe album includes the classic “Chest Fever”, which the group expanded on with a solo organ introduction called “The Genetic Method”. Its self-titled sequel was released in 1969, followed by the 1970s. stage fright1971 conspirator1973 cover album moondog matinee1975 Aurora – Southern Cross.
The Band’s star-studded farewell concert at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom on Thanksgiving 1976 was the inspiration for Martin Scorsese’s 1978 film. last waltzis considered one of the greatest concert films of all time. The classic lineup releases another LP, islandsHudson later became active as a session musician, participating in various iterations and partial reunions of The Band, and taking on work for artists such as Emmylou Harris, Van Morrison, and Leonard Cohen. . he composed music Virgin Queen of Angelsa 1980 multimedia program commemorating Los Angeles’ bicentennial.
Hudson releases his first solo album. north seafiled for bankruptcy in 2001, but also filed for bankruptcy protection for a third time that same year as it dealt with a series of financial difficulties. His wife and frequent bandmate, singer Sister Maud Hudson, passed away in February 2022.
Source: Our Culture – ourculturemag.com
