The Band’s keyboard player Garth Hudson has died.

The Canadian-born musician passed away at a nursing home in Woodstock, upstate New York. Variety reports an official statement which confirms Garth Hudson died peacefully in his sleep; he was 87 years old.

The Canadian-born musician was drawn into the orbit of Ronnie Hawkins in his early 20s, before an integral part of the Hawks. It is this group who were later swept up into Bob Dylan’s path, becoming known to fans across the globe as – simply – The Band.

Backing the feted songwriter on a series of mercurial tours, The Band then decamped to Woodstock, upstate New York in the aftermath of the songwriter’s motorcycle accident.

Working freely, without pressure, Bob Dylan and the Band recorded reel after reel of ad hoc material, which would later become widely bootlegged. Eventually released as ‘The Basement Tapes’, the songwriting – a mesh of blues, country, folk, gospel, and beyond – would help trigger a new movement within Americana.

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While most widely known for their work alongside Bob Dylan, The Band’s own spirited creativity resulted in some iconic releases. George Harrison was famously inspired by the democratic nature of their creativity, with Garth Hudson’s role becoming so much more than a keyboard player – a songwriter, vocalist, and studio foil, he was integral to the Band’s evolution.

Notably, he eschewed the then-fashionable Hammond organ, instead choosing a Lowrey organ to achieve his singular sound.

As many online have noted, Garth Hudson’s passing closes a chapter in music history – he was the final member of the Band, and leaves a remarkable footprint on modern songwriting.

CLASH founding editor Simon Harper spoke to Garth Hudson at length in 2008, toasting the musician’s 70th birthday. Asked about the Band’s lasting legacy, he replied:

Well, we have the recordings and it’s not like chalk on the sidewalk, it’s written in stone. So it joins the hundreds of thousands of recordings since the beginnings of the century.

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