The Band’s Heart and Soul, Garth Hudson, Dies at 87 – What You Didn’t Know About His Journey
Garth Hudson has died. The Band’s skilled keyboardist and versatile musician Garth Hudson said goodbye to this world at the age of 87. He used a unique palette of sounds and styles to add a conversational touch to rock standards like ‘Up on Cripple Creek’, ‘The Weight’ and ‘Rag Mama Rag’.
Hudson was the oldest and last surviving member of the influential group that once backed Bob Dylan. Hudson put life into every song
His death was confirmed by his friend on Tuesday. Hudson was living in a nursing home in upstate New York. Hudson was a classically trained artist and self-taught Greek chorus who spoke through piano, synthesizer, horns and his favorite Lowrey organ.
He didn’t care which song it was. Hudson reinvented each song with a different flair, whether it was the drunken clavinet and wah-wah pedal on “Up On Cripple Creek,” the galloping piano on “Rag Mama Rag,” or the melancholy saxophone on “It Makes No Difference.”
