A great has died

RIP, Garth Hudson. I always play the beginning of this song loudly.

https://youtu.be/ERuUgVxi6JM?si=zU_3sV99vi-_uNd2

And so it ends. The oldest of the five members of The Band (born in 1937), Garth didn't smoke or drink. No one plays organ as did Garth, a true original. He was also a very interesting pianist, and a decent sax player. 

I'll be listening to all The Band albums today.

One of my favorite groups of all time.  Just watched "The Last Waltz" a few nights ago, (for like the hundredth time).

R.I.P. Garth and thanks for all the great music!

The absolute end of an era, how lucky we all are to have lived amongst them while they worked their magic. THE BAND. Enjoy the music

That was one special group of players and what a repertoire!

The "brown album" has long been a desert island disc for me.

RIP Garth Hudson The Band one of the greatest and most underrated bands in rock history.

Saw The Band live twice, first In Central Park at a Wollman Rink concert. 
Garth’s extended intro to Chest Fever went on and on, to universal delight. Next at Watkins Glen with The Allmans and The Dead. Absolutely love their music!  The Brown album is on my desert island list. 

Wow

Garth Hudson was my favorite musician in my favorite Band.  I saw them first at the Before the Flood concert with Dylan in LA, then 5 times on the farewell tour, including the closer Thanksgiving Day in SF at The Last Waltz.  I like to say that there's 50 concerts in my Top 5 - here's 6 of them!

I was also fortunate enough to see several post-Robbie versions, including the Cate Brothers tour, after adding Jim Weider, and then replacing Richard Manuel with Richard Bell.  Not relevant to Garth, but I add here the Helm/Danko acoustic duo concert - another top 5.

Through it all, Garth made 1 band into several.  Here's his credits from the Brown Album – organ, clavinet, piano, accordion, melodica, soprano, tenor and baritone saxophones, slide trumpet.  Wikipedia also includes bass pedals, but I'm assuming those were part of his Lowrey Festival organ. 

There are very, very few concert moments more exciting than when Levon would pick up the mandolin, Richard Manuel shift to drums, and Garth to piano.  Though Rick Danko taking Garth's seat at the organ so that he could fiddle and play the bass pedals was an added treat!

R.I.P. Garth...🙏🙏🙏🙏

RIP to Garth and The Band.

Garth will be missed.  

wow, for some reason I was browsing The Band last night on qobuz and blasted a few tracks! RIP Garth!

First time I saw Garth was when the Band was still the Hawks and backing Bob Dylan in Hartford 1965. I had no idea who they were. Saw them again in New Haven 1966. Unfortunately, the stars never aligned for me to see the Band itself.

Another vote for the Brown album.

RIP Garth Hudson.

Here's a great little video about The Band (and Garth Hudson in particular) posted on YouTube about a year ago. The thoughts and feelings expressed by the video's maker align very closely with mine.

https://youtu.be/eLBux4PNvl8?si=ij6_vJHXB3ht7CE3

“Honey Boy” always made the music sweeter…..RIP

His sax solo on It Makes No Difference so expressive with sadness.

I met Levon Helm at the groundbreaking for Bethel Woods (site of Woodstock) back in the early 00s. Lovely person, he passed a decade ago? His wife still runs his semi-outdoor music venue, Levon Helms Studio. I’ve seen Richard Thompson, the Gypsy Kings, a few others there.

We are all getting old. 😢

RIP,Garth...only saw,him once with Ringos Allstars. They were different when I first heard the band back in 68.

May he rest in peace with his fabulous band mates!

That Lowry Festival is what set Garth’s organ work apart from all those Hammond B3 guys. There’s a little something different about the sound of that Lowry organ. Could it be a hint of calliope?

R.I.P. Garth.

IIRC, Garth made several mods to his Lowrey that the company incorporated into the production version.  Here's another remembrance:

https://www.theringer.com/2025/01/22/music/garth-hudson-the-band-obituary

What an amazing, loving, and beautiful tribute.  Thank you for sharing the link.  

Wow @petaluman, I’ll second @rpeluso’s perfect comment. The best summation of Garth Hudson’s character and talent I’ve ever read, and I’ve read everything ever written about The Band, my by far favorite musical combo (Rock ’n’ Roll or otherwise) of them all. I’m going to print the article and add it to my music library.

I had never before seen George Harrison’s praise of The Band ("The best band in the history of the universe"), an opinion I realize not everyone here agrees with. I myself am in complete agreement with George. I happened to have found a copy of Garth’s The Sea To The North album (on CD) a few months back, an album no one else could possibly have made.

Here’s a video chronicling Garth visiting the Big Pink house ten years ago, the first time he had been back since he, Levon, Rick, and Richard moved out back in 1969:

https://youtu.be/tBc_4dPQusI?si=P0o7BEPkW2gRrnnF