Bob Dylan Pays Tribute to Garth Hudson
Bob Dylan took to social media to honor Garth Hudson, the multi-instrumentalist for The Band, who died on Jan. 21 at age 87.
Dylan wrote, “Sorry to hear the news about Garth Hudson. He was a beautiful guy and the real driving force behind The Band. Just listen to the original recording of The Weight and you’ll see.”
Hudson’s death was confirmed to Rolling Stone, but a cause of death was not disclosed.
The Band, of course, famously got their start as Dylan’s backing band when he went electric. Hudson was part of every iteration of The Band beginning in 1965. While The Band had a number of different members in its existence, only five members were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994: Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, Levon Helm, and Hudson.
Hudson was the last surviving member of the five above members of The Band. Manuel died by suicide in 1986 at age 42. Danko died in 1999 at age 55 from heart failure. Helm died in 2012 from throat cancer at age 71. Robertson died in 2023 at age 80 due to prostate cancer.
On their Rock Hall page, it states, “Who else can say they backed Bob Dylan, played Watkins Glen with Grateful Dead and gave a farewell concert with Neil Young, Muddy Waters and Joni Mitchell immortalized on film by Martin Scorsese? The Band, more than any other group, put rock and roll back in touch with its roots.”
