January 21, 2025

Goodbye to Garth Hudson.

ADDED:

22 comments:

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Last man standing.

Peachy said...

what a sweet photo.
RIP.

Shouting Thomas said...

Knew Garth. Last time I saw him was when my men’s choral group did a concert in the nursing home where he resided briefly. He still had the signature wild hair.

Shouting Thomas said...

‪A Garth Story: Some 10 to 15 years ago, my cover band was playing a New Year’s Eve gig in High Falls, a little town not far from Woodstock, NY. Garth shows up just about midnight while we’re playing “Ophelia.” (No, we weren’t a Band cover band.) We asked him what he thought of our version, and he said he liked it better than the Band’s. A good insider musician joke. He played a couple of tunes with us.‬

wsw said...

RIP to Garth and to a lineup of friends/roommates that was once a millennium. I devoured Barney Hoskins' "Small Town Talk" about the upstate NY scene in 68-70. Terrific.

Whiskeybum said...

Chest Fever. RIP

Heartless Aztec said...

They are all officially "Up on Cripple Creek" without a paddle. I still have several of their songs in my campfire guitar set.

Shouting Thomas said...

I gotta say this about Garth. I can emulate any rock keyboard player, except for him. I’d listen over and over and over, and I’d still wonder: “What in the hell is he doing?” He was incredibly, uniquely individual in his playing. Take it out of the context of The Band, and I couldn’t make much sense out of it. But, he was the perfect accompanist for a large group, and The Band was often a 9 or 10 piece unit or more when you added in the backup singers and horn players.

rhhardin said...

The only Garth I've heard of is Garth and Wamba in Ivanhoe.

Rocketeer said...

I know it will be an unpopular opinion here, but Dylan was only bearable with The Band.

Shouting Thomas said...

For sure.

Lloyd W. Robertson said...

Loved the Band. Their elegeic anthem to the pre-Civil War South. Hard for progressives to swallow. Hearing the Battle Hymn of the Republic in connection with the Inauguration, I was thinking the Union had better music. "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" somewhat corrected the balance; of course there is bluegrass and so on.

I only found out recently that Eric Clapton loved The Band, and wished they had stayed together. My understanding is that Robbie Robertson was determined to leave. He probably became more of a star than the others, but Clapton was convinced they had always been at their best as a band, with no real stars. He even said he envied the rhythm guitar player in a really tight band. This harks back to Clapton's days with Delaney, Bonnie and Friends; he kind of broke up Derek and the Dominos just to play with this group, for the on-stage performance and just the everyday hang.

RCOCEAN II said...

87 aint bad. RIP

RCOCEAN II said...

If only he hadn't smoked he'd have lived to 87

boatbuilder said...

RIP. An original and a musical wizard.

Lazarus said...

I was surprised that the band The Band had members that old, but the original band The Band, the Hawks, goes all the way back to 1957. Though his passing is sad, I was also surprised and gladdened that people actually do live to 87. The Band's biggest fan, Martin Scorsese, is 82, and his long time editor Thelma Schoonmaker (who I always thought was just one of Scorsese's aliases is 85). Plenty of good and productive years ahead for all I hope and pray.

WhoKnew said...

Sad news. I'll second the recommendation of "Small Town Talk" (which takes it title from a song by Bobby Charles and The Band's Rick Danko). Great song and very good book. Rick Danko did an excellent version on his solo album, Boz Scaggs covered it this century on the album "A Fool to Care" but the best version is on Paul Butterfield's Better Days album "It All Comes Back"

Iman said...

Quite a talented, unassuming musician IMHO. Glad to see Shouting Thomas weigh in on him. The Band were one of my faves back in the day and still listen to them on my morning walks.

Iman said...

Clapton showing up and performing at The Last Waltz should’ve been a clue, Lloyd! And Clapton played with D&B and swiped most of their band to form Derek and the Dominoes.

He always said after Cream, D&B were a refreshing change… band members who liked each other, per my recollection.

prodigal said...

I was at this concert where The Band opened for the Dead, possibly the best concert I have ever attended. New Years eve, 1983, SF Civic auditorium

IamDevo said...

I knew it was inevitable, but it still hits hard. Levon, Robbie, now Garth. I'm still here, but all my best musical friends are leaving me, slowly but surely. Never met them, but felt like I knew them my entire life. We could use more Music from Big Pink, but I don't think we'll get it while I'm alive.

AZ Bob said...

There is another version of how Clapton got his backing band. The D&B back up band asked for a raise but were denied. So they quit and asked Clapton if he could use them. Maybe they sensed Clapton was looking. Who knows what really happened.