A Fan Page for John Hartford
If you haven't yet discovered John Hartford, I hope you will get to know him through this lens and learn to love his music the way I do.
John Hartford won Grammy awards in three different decades, recorded a catalog of more than 30 albums, and wrote one of the most popular songs of all time, Gentle On My Mind. He was a regular guest and contributor on the Glen Campbell Good Time Hour and the Smothers Brothers Show. He added music and narration to Ken Burns' landmark Civil War series, and was an integral part of the hugely popular "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack and Down From The Mountain concert tour. But that hardly explains John Hartford.
~~johnhartford.com
John Hartford at a Glance
John Cowan Hartford (December 30 1937- June 4 2001) was an American folk, country and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive knowledge of Mississippi River lore. Hartford performed with a variety of ensembles throughout his career, and is perhaps best known for his solo performances where he would interchange the guitar, banjo, and fiddle from song to song. He also invented his own shuffle tap dance move, and clogged on an amplified piece of plywood while he played and sang.
Did You Ever See John Perform Live?
John Hartford's Aereo-plain
~~johnhartford.com
Add These Albums To Your Library
Aereo-Plain
A must-have album for anyone interested in bluegrass, country, alt-country, Americana, or folk music.
Amazon Price: (as of 07/06/2009) 
Steam Powered Aereo-Takes
The Companion Piece: Steam Powered Aero-Takes
Outtakes from the Aereo-Plain sessions. It makes a nice compliment to Aereo-Plain. There are also some alternate versions of some songs from the out-of-print Morning Bugle.
Amazon Price: $14.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
"John Hartford was one of the rarest of musical birds. He had one foot deeply rooted in the past and the other always at least a few steps into the future- and both were dancing."
Larry Groce, Mountain Stage
John Hartford Videos
My Other John Hartford Lenses
John Hartford was an American original. He was a musician, songwriter, steamboat pilot, author, artist, disc jockey, calligrapher, dancer, folklorist, father, and historian.-
John Hartford
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"John Hartford's death was a great loss to American music. Seldom has there been a singer/songwriter who has remained truer to his roots and more focused on his musical mission - in John's case to sing and write the very finest bluegrass music that h...
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Gentle on My Mind
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In 1967, a "flash of brilliance in the form of a song seeped into the collective psyche of a generation. The number was 'Gentle On My Mind,' popularized by good-time singer Glenn Campbell."
A Little Banjo Pickin'
9. John Hartford - Kentucky Tunes - Foggy Mountain Landscape
Foggy Mountain Landscape This is part 9 of 16 parts for: John Hartford - Kentucky Tunes - Jubilee - #406
Runtime: 5:32
26292 views
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Hartford was a multi-talented old-time musician, a riverboat captain, a satirical songwriter, a one-man showman of exceptional talents, and one of the founders of both progressive country music and old-time string music revivalism.
~~James Manheim
The Mississippi: River of Song PBS.org
John Hartford's Mark Twang
At times John performed on a riverboat after piloting it the same day.
In 1976, John won another Grammy award for his contemporary folk masterpiece, Mark Twang. The album featured a set of quirky river-centric original songs, presented in stripped down arrangements, typically featuring only Hartford accompanying himself on banjo, fiddle, or guitar while tapping his feet on an amplified sheet of plywood. The combination was magical, and would become his trademark sound for many years as a solo act.
~~johnhartford.com
This album is 50% riverboat folk music and 50% humor/novelty tunes. "The Lowest Pair" is sure to offend some, but it has one of my favorite John Hartford lines: "Give us today hors d'oevres in bed..." And it's a great example of Hartford's infectious sense of humor, which is present throughout all of his work. The Julia Belle Swain (pictured below) is the riverboat that Hartford captained in the 1970s.
~~settingthewoodsonfire.com
Add This Album to Your Library
Mark Twang
Amazon Price: $14.99 (as of 07/06/2009)
Great John Hartford stuff from Amazon
Gum Tree Canoe
Add This Album to Your Library
Gum Tree Canoe
Amazon Price: $17.98 (as of 07/06/2009)
John Hartford on YouTube
Grammy Award 2001
His bittersweet appearance on the subsequent "Down From The Mountain" tour was immortalized in the concert film.
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Amazon Price: $9.49 (as of 07/06/2009)
Down From the Mountain: Live Concert Performances by the Artists & Musicians of O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Amazon Price: (as of 07/06/2009)
O Brother Where Art Thou
Amazon Price: (as of 07/06/2009)
Grammy Awards 1967 Gental On MY MInd
In 1967 his second RCA release "Earthwords & Music" featured the single "Gentle on My Mind", a song Hartford wrote after seeing the movie Dr. Zhivago. That year, the song earned four Grammy awards. Hartford would take home two awards, one as the writer and one for his own recording of the song. The other two went to Glen Campbell who had heard Hartford's version on the radio and decided to record it. Campbell's rendition became an instant classic, and the song became one of the most recorded and performed songs of all time, covered by everyone from Elvis Presley to Aretha Franklin.
Hartford often said that Gentle On My Mind bought his freedom.
He used that freedom to explore his various creative curiosities, and was usually happy to take his friends along on the trip.
~~johnhartford.com
John Hartford remains best known for the country-pop standard "Gentle on My Mind," a major hit for Glen Campbell and subsequently covered by vocalists ranging from Frank Sinatra to Aretha Franklin. The song remains among the most often recorded in the history of popular music, its copyright netting Hartford well over a hundred thousand dollars annually for many years.
~~James Manheim
Gentle on my mind -Tribute- Long Live Version-John Hartford
Taped from a concert -Greatist song ever With Slides of John
Runtime: 7:32
47105 views
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John's Own Kind of Tap Dance
Quick, what do you think of John Hartford?
More Info
- allmusic John Hartford
- allmusic, music reviews, new releases, artists biography
- St. Louis Walk of Fame - John Hartford
- ST. LOUIS WALK OF FAME JOHN HARTFORD
- 3rd Ear Music Forum - RIP - RSA & USA Musicians Pass away
- 3rd Ear Music's,Hidden Years Archive Project -
RIP - JOHN HARTFORD
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John Hartford
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"John Hartford's death was a great loss to American music. Seldom has there been a singer/songwriter who has remained truer to his roots and more focused on his musical mission - in John's case to sing and write the very finest bluegrass music that h...
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Bill "Mr. Bojangles" Robinson
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Is it possible that anybody hasn't heard the lyric: I knew a man Bojangles/And he danced for you/In worn out shoes... The popular but enigmatic tap dancer, born Luther "Bill" Robinson, also known as Mr. Bojangles was a real-life folk character who e...
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Gentle on My Mind
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In 1967, a "flash of brilliance in the form of a song seeped into the collective psyche of a generation. The number was 'Gentle On My Mind,' popularized by good-time singer Glenn Campbell."
MerleFest 2000 Wilkes County, NC by Forrest Smith
Goodbye John
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