Garth Hudson, Last Surviving Member of The Band and Bob Dylan Collaborator, Dies at 87

Garth Hudson, the last surviving member of The Band who toured with Bob Dylan, has died. He was 87.

Hudson's death was confirmed in a statement shared to The Band's official Instagram page on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

"Today, we sadly say goodbye to Garth "Honey Boy" Hudson, the last living original member of The Band," it read. "A musical genius and cornerstone of the group’s timeless sound, Garth once said, 'I found some true enjoyment in helping people get to the bottom of their feelings.'"

The statement continued: "Through his music, he did just that—helping us all feel more deeply and connect to something greater. Rest easy, Garth.🕊"

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Rolling Stone reported that the multi-instrumentalist died early Tuesday morning at the Ten Broeck Center for Rehabilitation & Nursing in upstate New York.

No cause of death was revealed, but Hudson's longtime friend Jan Haust told the publication that he “died peacefully” and “yesterday was a day of music and hand-holding.”

Born Eric Hudson in 1937, the classically-trained performer grew up in Windsor, Canada, in a family of musicians. During his childhood, he played the church organ, piano and accordion, and by 11 years old, he wrote his first song.

By his teenage years, he relocated with his family to London, Ontario where he joined a band, which would eventually be called the Kapers.

After seeing Hudson perform, Ronnie Hawkins and Levon Helm tried to recruit the musician to join their band the Hawks. However, Hudson aspired to be a music teacher, so he joined the group once they agreed to his terms to let him teach them music theory.

The lineup also included Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel (Hawkins split from the group in 1963.) Eventually, they became The Band.

But during their time as the Hawks, Dylan hired them to be his backing band.

Their relationship with Dylan continued and they moved to a big pink house in Saugerties, N.Y. in 1967 where they penned The Band's debut album Music from Big Pink. They also recorded songs with Dylan that were eventually featured on 1975's Basement Tapes. including Dylan's classic "I Shall Be Released," in addition to tracks from Dylan for The Band, like "Tears of Rage" and "This Wheel’s on Fire."

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Between 1968 and 1977, The Band recorded seven studio albums, with their self-titled 1969 LP and 1970’s Stage Fright both landing in the U.S. top 10.

Once the band reunited in 1983, Hudson joined them and eventually released three more albums with them during the 1990s.

Throughout his career, he did session work with artists like Emmylou Harris, Van Morrison and Leonard Cohen. Hudson released a solo album in 2001 with The Sea to the North.

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With The Band, Hudson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. In 2008, he earned a lifetime achievement Grammy award.

Two years later, he shared Garth Hudson Presents: A Canadian Celebration of the Band, a cover album of Band songs played by him and collaborators including Neil Young.

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