play_arrow
Channel X94 6.3k Listeners
Bob Dylan has paid tribute to the late Garth Hudson – see what he had to say below.
Hudson, who was a co-founder of The Band and the group’s last remaining member, died last week (January 21) at the age of 87. According to reports, Hudson “died peacefully” in his sleep in the nursing home where he was living. No cause of death has been shared.
Now, Dylan has taken to social media to honour his former collaborator. Hudson and The Band rose to prominence as Bob Dylan’s first backing band when he went electric – they were known as The Hawks back then. Despite parting ways with Dylan shortly after and rebranding to The Band, they remained close and Dylan joined them at their farewell concert, which was later released as the iconic concert film The Last Waltz – directed by Martin Scorsese.
Bob Dylan wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday night (January 27): “Sorry to heart 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.”
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.
— Bob Dylan (@bobdylan) January 27, 2025
Garth Hudson was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1994 alongside The Band and was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2008 Grammys.
Hudson and The band went on to record seven albums between 1968 and 1977, with their 1969 self-titled LP and 1970’s ‘Stage Fright’ landing spots in the US Top 10. They reunited with Hudson in 1983 after their split in the late ’70s to release three more albums.
As for Dylan, he’s been the subject of the acclaimed Timothée Chalamet-led biopic A Complete Unknown, which has received several nominations at the upcoming Oscars, including Best Picture.
NME has launched a special print edition magazine celebrating the film and the legacy of Dylan. The 26-page one-shot is available now – find out where to get it here.
NME awarded A Complete Unknown four stars, writing: “The most important (and often trickiest) job of any music movie is to get the music right. And this nails that. If you’re a Bob newbie, you’ll leave the cinema ready to dive into his back catalogue. If you’re already a fan, the next few weeks will be spent making playlists of lesser-known B-sides or reading the lore around a scene you weren’t familiar with. And that’s why it was a good idea to make this film – a mad idea, but a good one.”
The post Bob Dylan pays tribute to Garth Hudson: “He was the real driving force behind The Band” appeared first on NME.
