Garth Hudson | |
|---|---|
 Hudson performing in 1971 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Eric Hudson (1937-08-02)August 2, 1937 Windsor, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | January 21, 2025(2025-01-21) (aged 87) Woodstock, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations | |
| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1949–2023 |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | |
| Website | garthandmaud |
Eric Garth HudsonCM (August 2, 1937 – January 21, 2025) was a Canadian multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist and occasional saxophonist forThe Band. He was a principal architect of the group's sound and was described as "the most brilliant organist in the rock world"[1][2] byKeyboard magazine. In 1994, Hudson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Band. He was its last surviving original member.[3]
A master of theLowrey organ, Hudson's other primary instruments were piano,accordion,electronic keyboards, and saxophones (soprano,alto,tenor,baritone,bass).[4] He was a much-in-demand and respectedsession musician, performing with dozens of artists;Elton John has cited him as an early influence.[5]
Hudson was born inWindsor, Ontario, Canada, on August 2, 1937.[6] His parents, Fred James Hudson and Olive Louella Pentland, were musicians. His mother played piano andaccordion and sang. His father, a farm inspector who had fought as a fighter pilot inWorld War I, played drums,C melody saxophone,clarinet, flute and piano.[7] Hudson moved with his family toLondon, Ontario, around 1940. Starting piano lessons at an early age, Hudson also played organ at his church and his uncle's funeral parlour, and performed country songs on the accordion.[8] Classically trained in piano,music theory,harmony andcounterpoint, Hudson wrote his first song at the age of eleven and first played professionally with dance bands in 1949, at the age of twelve. He attended Broughdale Public School andMedway High School before studying music (primarilyBach's chorales andThe Well-Tempered Clavier) at theUniversity of Western Ontario. During this period, he grew increasingly frustrated with the rigidity of the classical repertoire, leading him to drop out after a year.
In 1956, he joinedLondon band the Silhouettes. The group relocated to theWindsor/Detroit area where work was more plentiful. It was there, in 1958, that the Silhouettes joined with fellow LondonerPaul "London" Hutchins and became Paul London and the Capers. Hudson primarily played saxophone in the group, and some piano in a style inspired byJohnnie Johnson, but saw his firstLowrey organ at a show in Detroit and determined that he would get one. The group found moderate success and plenty of work, recording a few songs in Toronto in 1960, changing their name to "...Kapers" with a 'K', recording a few more songs atChess Studios in Chicago.[9]
Hudson was first approached byRonnie Hawkins andLevon Helm in the summer of 1961, after a Kapers show in London, and asked to jointhe Hawks, an offer he declined. The Hawks persisted, and in December 1961, Hudson agreed to join the band on two conditions: that Hawkins buy him a Lowrey organ, and that he be paid an extra $10 a week by each of the other band members to give music lessons to the other Hawks. This second condition was in part to justify the move to his parents, who he feared would think he was squandering his years of music education by playing in a rock and roll band.[10] Discussing the thinking behind his early fears inThe Last Waltz, Hudson told interviewer-directorMartin Scorsese: "There is a view thatjazz is 'evil' because it comes from evil people, but actually the greatest priests on52nd Street and on the streets of New York City were the musicians. They were doing the greatest healing work. They knew how to punch through music that would cure and make people feel good."[11]
When the 24-year-old Hudson joined the Hawks, the backing band forRonnie Hawkins, the band already consisted of 21-year-oldLevon Helm (drums), and 18-year-oldsRobbie Robertson (guitar),Rick Danko (bass) andRichard Manuel (piano). The lineup that would becomethe Band was now complete.
Hudson was one of the few organ players in rock and roll and rhythm and blues to eschew aHammond organ. Upon joining the Hawks, Hudson took the opportunity to negotiate the procurement of a newLowrey organ as part of his compensation. The Lowrey organ offered a different mix of features, and Hudson played one withRonnie Hawkins and the Hawks and withBob Dylan andthe Band, playing three different models: originally a Festival (FL) console, which was replaced by a Lincolnwood TSO-25 during 1969, and later still a horseshoe console H25 model, as depicted inThe Last Waltz.[12]
Under the strict supervision of Hawkins, the Hawks became an accomplished band. They split from Hawkins in 1963, recorded two singles and toured almost continually, playing in bars and clubs, usually billed as Levon and the Hawks. Hudson started work as asession musician in 1965, playing onJohn Hammond Jr.'sSo Many Roads along with Robertson (guitar) and Helm (drums).
In August 1965, they were introduced toBob Dylan by managerAlbert Grossman's assistant, Mary Martin. In October, Dylan and the Hawks recorded the single "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?"[13] and, in January 1966, recorded material with Dylan for what would turn into theBlonde on Blonde album.[14] Dylan recruited the band to accompany him on his controversial 1966 "electric" tour of the United States, Australia and Europe. (An album of Dylan's 1966 performance with his band,The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert, was finally released in 1998.) Subsequent to Bob Dylan's motorcycle accident in July 1966, the group settled in apink house inWest Saugerties, New York, nearWoodstock.[15] Dylan was a frequent visitor, and Hudson's recordings of their collaborations resulted inThe Basement Tapes.
By 1968, the group recorded its debut album,Music from Big Pink. The album was recorded in Los Angeles (at Capitol) and New York (at A&R Studio). Capitol originally announced that the group would be called the Crackers, but whenMusic from Big Pink was released they were officially named the Band. The album includes Hudson's organ showcase, "Chest Fever", a song that in the Band's live shows would be vastly expanded by a solo organ introduction, entitled "The Genetic Method", animprovisational work that would be played differently at each performance. An example can be heard on The Band's performance at Woodstock, in which the organ intro was an improvisation based on Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor; another example can be heard on the live albumRock of Ages. Hudson was also adept at the accordion, which he played on some of the group's recordings, such as "Rockin Chair", fromThe Band; the traditional "Ain't No More Cane", fromThe Basement Tapes; Dylan's "When I Paint My Masterpiece"; andBobby Charles's "Down South in New Orleans" duringThe Last Waltz. His saxophone solo work can be heard on such songs as "Tears of Rage" (fromBig Pink) and "Unfaithful Servant" (fromThe Band). Hudson is credited with playing all of the brass and woodwinds on the studio version of "Ophelia" from the 1975 albumNorthern Lights - Southern Cross.[16] This album, the first to be recorded in the Band's Shangri-La recording studio inMalibu, California, also saw Hudson adding synthesizers to his arsenal of instruments.
Hudson provided innovative accompaniment. For example, the song "Up on Cripple Creek" features Hudson playing aclavinet through awah-wah pedal to create a swampy sound reminiscent of aJew's harp or the croak of a frog. This clavinet–wah wah pedal configuration was later adopted by manyfunk musicians.
The initial iteration of the Band made its final bow as a touring band with a lavish final concert onThanksgiving Day 1976 at theWinterland Ballroom in San Francisco, an all-star tribute concert documented inThe Last Waltz.[17]
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The Band released one more album after the Last Waltz,Islands, and then dissolved. By then, Hudson had married his singer/actress wife, Maud. He had his own property, Big Oak Basin Dude Ranch, in Malibu, which was destroyed by wildfires in 1978, after extensive renovations that included an impressive studio.
He was active during this period as asession musician, performing on movie soundtracks and albums by many other artists, includingEmmylou Harris,Van Morrison (Wavelength) andLeonard Cohen (Recent Songs). He composed music forOur Lady Queen of the Angels, a multimedia show created for the Los Angelesbicentennial in 1980. In the early 1980s he accompaniedthe Call on one of their albums and appeared with them in a music video which was played on MTV. He can be seen playing two separate keyboards in the Call's video for "The Walls Came Down".
The Band reformed in 1983, with all the original members exceptRobbie Robertson.[18]Richard Manuel, who had lived at Hudson's ranch in 1978, died by suicide in 1986. Supplemented by a rotating roster of additional musicians, the Band continued to tour, releasing three albums in the 1990s.
In 1988, Hudson recorded "Feed the Birds" onStay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films, produced byHal Willner.[19]
In 1990 Hudson, playingaccordion andsoprano saxophone, along with bandmatesLevon Helm andRick Danko, who harmonized with the vocalists, took part inRoger Waters's massive performance ofThe Wall at theBerlin Wall.[20]
As a member of the Band, Hudson was inducted into theJuno Hall of Fame in 1989 and theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.[21] He played on various solo efforts of his bandmatesRick Danko,Levon Helm, andRobbie Robertson.
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Hudson released his first solo album,The Sea to the North, on September 11, 2001.[22] In 2002, with his home in foreclosure and Robertson having bought out his stake in the Band,[23] Hudson declared bankruptcy for the third time.[24] He continued to record and perform. On July 13, 2002, he was honoured with the Canada South Blues Society's Lifetime Achievement Award.[4]
In 2002, he joined Burrito Deluxe, a quasi-reunion of country-rock groupFlying Burrito Brothers. Other members includedpedal steel playerSneaky Pete Kleinow, Carlton Moody of theMoody Brothers on lead vocals and guitars, bassist Jeff "Stick" Davis of theAmazing Rhythm Aces,[25] and drummer Rick Lonow. The group recorded two albums,Georgia Peach andThe Whole Enchilada, before Kleinow departed in 2004 because of health problems.
In 2005, Hudson formed his own 12-piece band, the Best!, with his wife, Maud on vocals. That same year, Garth and Maud Hudson releasedLive at the Wolf, a piano and vocal album recorded live at the Wolf Performance Hall inLondon, Ontario. Maud died on February 28, 2022.
On November 20, 2005, Hudson received the Hamilton Music Award for Best Instrumentalist.[26]
He continued as a much-in-demand session player, performing with such artists asNeko Case (Fox Confessor Brings the Flood andMiddle Cyclone),Chris Castle (Last Bird Home),Teddy Thompson (Separate Ways), theSecret Machines (Ten Silver Drops),the Sadies (Live 2006), theLemonheads,Jonah Smith (2006 self-titled debut), Yesterday's News (The Northside Hotel), Billy the Kid (The Lost Cause) and others. He contributed an original electronic score to anoff-Broadway production ofDragon Slayers, written byStanley Keyes and directed byBrad Mays in 1986 at the Union Square Theatre in New York. The production was restaged with a new cast in Los Angeles in 1990.
A few of the artists Hudson performed with in 2006 areRonnie Hawkins, the Sadies,Neko Case,Heavy Trash,John Hiatt, theNorth Mississippi All-Stars,Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, and Chris Zaloom, some of these performances were recorded. Hudson and his talent on piano are prominently featured in the 2007Daniel Lanois DVD documentaryHere Is What Is.[27]
In 2010, Hudson releasedGarth Hudson Presents: A Canadian Celebration of the Band. The album features Canadian artists covering songs that were recorded by the Band. Hudson plays on every track and co-produced the album withPeter J. Moore. Acts that appear on the album includeNeil Young,Bruce Cockburn,Blue Rodeo,Cowboy Junkies, theTrews,Great Big Sea,Hawksley Workman,Mary Margaret O'Hara,Chantal Kreviazuk,Raine Maida andIan Thornley.[28]
In 2012, Garth and Maud Hudson invited family and friends for a three-day party at Clubhouse Studio in Rhinebeck, New York to celebrate his 75th birthday. It went so well, they held three more over the next three years and called them the Birthday Sessions. At the time of Garth's death, audio and video materials were being prepared for release.[29]
Garth Hudson made his final public appearance on April 16, 2023, performing in Kingston, New York, in the Flower Hill House Concert No. 6, where he playedDuke Ellington‘s “Sophisticated Lady”.[30]
Hudson died in his sleep at a nursing home in Woodstock, New York, on January 21, 2025, at the age of 87.[31][32] Among the many tributes, Bob Dylan wrote, “Sorry to hear the news about Garth Hudson. He was a beautiful guy and the real driving force behind the Band..."[33]
| Year | Album | Label | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Music for Our Lady Queen of the Angels | Buscador Music | Cassette only release. 2005 CD reissue on Other People's Music |
| 2001 | The Sea to the North | Breeze Hill Records | Reissued by Dreamsville Records, Woodstock Records, Corazong Records |
| Year | Album | Label | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Live at the Wolf | Make It Real Records | With Maud Hudson |
| Year | Album | Label | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films | A&M Records | "Feed the Birds" (from "All Innocent Children Had Better Beware" medley) |
| 2010 | Garth Hudson Presents: A Canadian Celebration of the Band | Curve Music/Sony Music | all tracks |
| 2013 | The Beautiful Old: Turn-of-the-Century Songs | Doubloon Records | "The Rosary (1898)", "Till We Meet Again (1918)" |
| Year | Album | Label | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | TheHarry Smith Project: Anthology Of American Folk Music Revisited | Shout! Factory | "No Depression in Heaven" (with Maud Hudson) |
| 2013 | Love for Levon (A Benefit to Save The Barn) | Time Life | Appears withJohn Prine on "When I Paint My Masterpiece" andDierks Bentley on "Chest Fever" |
| Year | Album | Label | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | So Many Roads | Vanguard Records | withJohn P. Hammond |
| 1975 | The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album | Chess Records | withMuddy Waters |
Hudson is credited in the following films:
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