The influential musician appeared on ‘Mountain Stage’ 3 times.
“I fell under the spell of Garth Hudson in the fall of 1968 when I heard the intro to “Chest Fever” on “Music from Big Pink”. I didn’t know what he was doing, but I was totally into it and stayed into it for the next fifty plus years. I didn’t realize I’d seen him in person with the rest of The Band and Bob Dylan three years earlier. It was a charged-up concert. Unlike most of the audiences of that Newport Folk Festival Tour, those of us in Dallas loved the electrified Dylan and his group.
Dylan and The Band became the center of my folk-rock world and have had a huge influence on me and therefore on Mountain Stage over these many years. But before Mountain Stage had even begun, I realized the fantasy of playing with Garth when he joined in on two albums I made in the 70’s. I was awestruck to watch him work his magic merging himself into the music with otherworldly concentration. I asked him how he conjured that feeling of his organ and synth seeming to float over, under and around the songs. He just said, “I try never to play on the ‘one’”. He wasn’t a big talker. One of the recordings was an album of Christian hymns and he told me his parents were very happy he was playing them. He started his career playing hymns in a funeral home.
The Band was on Mountain Stage twice and I was in heaven both times. But Garth and Rick had already appeared on the show earlier in a quartet that was raw and sweet and beautiful. They did an unforgettable version of “It Makes No Difference” that ended with Garth and Tommy Spurlock trading lap steel and sax solos. If you listen close, you can hear Garth urging Tommy to give him more energy to play off. It was as good as it gets in my world.
Garth was deep and quiet and benevolent but with a mischievous gleam in his eye. He understood that much of the best music, even uplifting music, contains plenty of darkness. Benevolent darkness. I hope that’s what he’s slipped into.”
-Larry Groce, Jan. 21, 2025
“I always loved the Band’s songs and the incredible singing and the unique sound of everything, but it took me a long time to figure out how special that uniqueness was, and that Garth was the secret weapon. I started recognizing that whenever there was a kind of transcendent sound moment that just took you away, it was Garth, working magic in the background. He was one of those rare musicians that excelled in between the lines, almost in the subconscious. He had his big solo moments, but that wasn’t the main thing. He was a wizard!”
-Julie Adams, Jan. 22, 2025
Garth Hudson and Rick Danko (pictured below) performed together on Mountain Stage in February of 1989. Click the button to listen to the full set via NPR Music.
