Remembering Garth Hudson

This week, we lost the last original member of The Band.

Sad to hear this week that the last original surviving member of The Band passed away. Appropriately enough, Garth Hudson passed away at a nursing home in Woodstock, New York. Not far from a concert site you may have heard of (where The Band played in 1969). And not far from “Big Pink,” the house where Bob Dylan and the Band recorded some dinking-around, feel-good tunes that became “The Basement Tapes.”

Garth seemed to be the adult in the room from the earliest days. Classically trained, he was approached by a wild rockabilly singer named Ronnie Hawkins to join his band. Other members of the Hawks were Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Richard Manuel, and Rick Danko.

Hudson originally thought playing rock & roll was beneath him. He finally relented when Hawkins agreed to buy him a Lowrey organ…and that each of the band’s members would pay him $10 a week for music lessons.

The five men split from Ronnie Hawkins, joining Bob Dylan in time to record his classic “Blonde on Blonde” album. They were with Dylan ford his 1966 performance at Royal Albert Hall in London, where they were booed for playing electric music the entire second set. Dylan responded to the jeers by telling the boys “play fucking loud!”

The Band recorded their first album, “Music from Big Pink,” in 1968. Nobody had ever heard anything like it. A jambalaya of rock, gospel, folk, blues, and country. Harmonies that rivaled the Everly Brothers and the Beach Boys. Inventive musicianship from Garth and his organ…he also played accordion, saxophone, brass and woodwind instruments.

On the song “Up on Cripple Creek,” Garth played a clavinet with a wah-wah pedal, creating the swampy Jew’s harp sound. That’s his frenetic organ on “The Shape I’m In.” He hunched over his keyboards like a mad professor, his bushy beard nearly reaching the keys.

After frequent ego-clashes between Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm–and substance abuse issues affecting Rick Danko and Richard Manuel (who later died by suicide in 1978 while living at Hudson’s Malibu ranch), The Band officially broke up following a 1976 Thanksgiving Day concert at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco.

Much in demand for session work, Garth Hudson recorded with Elton John, Van Morrison, Emmylou Harris, and Leonard Cohen.

Bob Dylan had a tribute concert in 1992 to celebrate his 30th anniversary in the music business. Artists as diverse as Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Stevie Wonder, and Tracy Chapman honored him.

The Band–reconfigured with Hudson, Helm and Danko–reunited to play “When I Paint My Masterpiece.” They had such a good time, they regrouped to record a few albums and go on tour.

I nearly crapped my pants one night in the mid 90s while listening to Iowa Public Radio. The Electric Park Ballroom in Waterloo would be hosting a fundraising concert for KUNI radio. Featuring…The Band! I immediately called the station to verify what I’d heard. It was TRUE!

My old college buddy and paddling partner Gary Walter are big Dylan fans. I’ve seen “the song and dance man” 8 or 9 times. Walter’s been to a few more shows…but my friend Linda claims to have seen Bob 21 times. That’s hard-core!

We headed up to Waterloo for a Friday night show. Tables were set up on the dance floor and had been mostly claimed. But to stage-left, there sat an unoccupied table that we promptly grabbed. The three original guys were joined by guitarist Jim Weider and drummer Randy Ciarlante.

I’m not going to lie and say I recall specific details of the amazing musicianship and harmonizing I heard that night. It’s been 30 years, and a few brain cells have died along the way.

I know the Band had a blast.

After the show ended, I bought a hat. Walter and I had another beer before heading to our car.

Behind the ballroom a tour bus was warming up.

What the hell did we have to lose? We approached the bus like a couple teenage groupies. I knocked and Levon Helm, sitting in the driver’s seat, opened the door!

Lucky for me, they had a couple sharpies on board and they each signed my hat.

My rock & roll treasure!

As we crossed the parking lot, Levon fired up the bus and had a crazy grin as he acted like he was gonna run us over. I flashed him the sign of the cross you do when you meet a vampire. He laughed as he drove past us.

RIP, Garth Hudson.

Hope to catch you guys on the other side.