Master instrumentalist and The Band member Garth Hudson dies at the age of 87

The Band's skilled keyboardist and versatile composer Garth Hudson died at the age of 87. He used a unique palette of sounds and styles to add a conversational touch to rock standards such as '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.

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, horn, and his favorite Lowrey organ. It didn't matter what the song was. Hudson reinvented each song with a different twist, 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'.

The only non-singer of the five musicians known for its harmony, texture, and versatility, Hudson appeared mostly in the background, but he did have one display - 'Chest Fever'.  Robertson, the guitarist and main songwriter of the band, died in 2023 after a long illness. Keyboardist-drummer Richard Manuel hanged himself in 1986, bassist Rick Danko died in his sleep in 1999, and drummer Levon Helm in 2012 died due to cancer. In the year 1994, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts the entire band.