Garth Hudson, the Band’s virtuoso keyboardist and all-around musician who drew from a unique palette of sounds and styles to add a conversational touch to such rock standards as “Up on Cripple Creek,” “The Weight” and “Rag Mama Rag,

Garth Hudson, the multi-instrumentalist who served as the principal architect of the Band's sound, has died at 87.

The Canadian virtuoso, known for his solo on “Chest Fever,” gave the group a “sound twice as big” and his mates music lessons.