Garth Hudson, the last surviving member of The Band, has passed away.
The master instrumentalist was revered by musicians around the world, but was best known as the keyboardist and saxophonist for The Band.
Retired music journalist James Reaney remembers Hudson as a gifted but humble man, with a storied history within the London, Ont. music community.
“He was in one of the pioneering rock bands, Melodies. He was playing Jazz. He was in jazz dance bands as well - Tremendous at Medway High School, that’s the ‘50s. Then in the ‘60s, guy called Ronnie Hawkins comes knocking,” explained Reaney.
Born in Windsor, Ont. in 1937, and raised in Windsor and London, where he honed his musical talents. Hudson attended Middlesex County’s Medway High School, and for a time, studied music at Western University.
One of his early London bands was The Silhouettes, which would become The Capers. In 1961, he joined rockabilly veteran Ronnie Hawkins’ band, which would later play with Bob Dylan, before ascending to their own fame as The Band.
CTV London, then known as the New PL, caught up with Hudson at a London reunion concert in 2002, where he reminisced with New PL Entertainment Reporter Janice Zolf.
“Jack played sax with The Melodies, correct me if I’m wrong, Jerry Risser and Bob Lively were in The Melodies to begin with, and then they started The Silhouettes, found out there was an American group by that name, and there you go,” Hudson recanted to Zolf.
Hudson, with The Band, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. In 2014 he was inducted into the London Music Hall of Fame.
Forest City London Music Awards founder Mario Circelli says Hudson appreciated the accolades from his home town.
“London has always been a city of music, and Garth symbolizes that. The history that he went through, his personal history, his rise to fame, international superstardom, and the fact that it started here in London, Ontario,” said Circelli.
In 2016 Hudson returned to London to help open the London Music Hall of Fame’s physical location on Dundas Street. It was at that time that he gave what would be his final impromptu performance in London, playing a 40 minute set according to Circelli.
“He was happy that we invited him to come back to his hometown, he didn’t forget about his hometown,” Circelli added.
Garth Hudson died Tuesday morning at a nursing home in Woodstock, New York. He was 87.
