Born John Cowan Harford on Dec. 30, 1937, in New York City, the Grammy-winning artist grew up in St. Louis, Mo., with a love for two things: the Mississippi River and music, especially old-time music and bluegrass.
Moreover, when it came to the latter, he brought new life to his genre of choice, influencing the likes of critically acclaimed musicians Bela Fleck, Emmylou Harris, Sam Bush of New Grass Revival and Tim O’Brien, among many.
Although many best know Hartford as the tunesmith behind Gentle on My Mind, a signature song that country artist Glen Campbell is usually associated with, his life is a storied and compelling portrait that will be reflected in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s upcoming Spotlight exhibit in his honor, John Hartford: Ever Smiling, Ever Gentle on My Mind, which will open Jan. 24, 2009, and continue through Jan. 2, 2010.
Bluegrass Player's Love for Old-Time, Acoustic Music Inspires 'New Grass' Sound
“In many ways, John Hartford is the Mark Twain of traditional music,” Mick Buck, the museum’s curator of collections, has said. “He was a beloved American figure whose influence went far beyond his commercial success. He brought literacy, humor and inventiveness to his music and an eclectic sense of adventure to his life. He was a true artist in every sense of the word.”
Jeremy Rush, a representative for the Nashville-based hall of fame and museum, reported that the exhibit in Hartford’s honor—which will feature moving images, photographs, costumes, handwritten lyrics and instruments from both the museum’s collection and from the Hartford family—will explore numerous aspects of his career, including his songwriting success and his experimental and influential approach to traditional music, as well as his pursuits “as an artist, performer, steamboat pilot, author and historian.”
Banjo Music of Earl Scruggs Shapes John Hartford's Life
Hartford—who added the “t” to his given surname upon the request of the late producer-guitar legend Chet Atkins—credited the music of banjo player Earl Scruggs, a bluegrass legend, as changing his life forever. After hearing Scruggs’ music, a young Hartford was instantly attracted to traditional string music set about becoming proficient at not only banjo but also fiddle and guitar.
In his teen years, Hartford began performing professionally in bluegrass groups in central Missouri and Illinois, before moving to Nashville in 1965, where he served as an overnight disc jockey at country-radio station WSIX while striving to establish his music career.
Songwriter Scores Grammy-Winning Hit-Country Song
A couple of years following his move to Music City, Hartford’s songs found their way to Chuck Glaser of the Glaser Brothers, who was reportedly taken by their introspection. As a result, Hartford landed a deal with RCA in 1967, where his pop-country standard, Gentle on My Mind, became a four-time Grammy-winning pop and country hit. (Although Hartford recorded the song first, it was Campbell’s version that gained wide circulation and commercial radio exposure.)
The now-classic track, which Hartford was inspired to write after seeing the movie Dr. Zhivago, was eventually recorded by hundreds of artists, including Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin and Dean Martin. But for Hartford, the song’s far-reaching commercial appeal equated into personal and financial freedom; thus, affording him the opportunity to explore his musical artistry and other pursuits of the heart, including earning his steamboat pilot’s license.
'New Grass' Grows from Bluegrass: Hartford Records Classic Album
With his career as a songwriter cemented, Hartford went to California in 1968, where played on the Byrds’ classic album, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, and worked as a scriptwriter/performer on CBS’s Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour. He devoted two prime-time seasons to Hollywood before returning to Nashville in 1971 to record what became his groundbreaking acoustic album, Aereo-Plain.
Produced by David Bromberg, the 16-song record merged traditional bluegrass music with freedom-inspired music of the early ‘70s. The album’s experimental “jam band” approach is credited with challenging the boundaries of acoustic music, while simultaneously forging what is now considered the “new-grass” philosophy of bluegrass.
In 1976, Hartford’s lifelong love of the Mississippi River led him to record an album of river-oriented songs, Mark Twang. Inspired by working summers as pilot on the Julia Belle Swain steamboat, it was the first album by Hartford sans a band and featured him switching between banjo, fiddle and guitar, while tapping his feet percussively on plywood. The album earned a Grammy for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording.
Focusing on Fiddle, Old-Time and String Band Music
From here, Hartford dedicated the rest of his career into further researching old-time music and its history, including working on a biography about Ed Haley, a West Virginia fiddler, and cutting a number of Haley’s songs. According to his biography, it was during this time that Hartford—who continued to write and record from his home in Madison, Tenn., overlooking the Cumberland River—also “would revisit different ensemble configurations, recording and touring with his son, Jamie, and with various incarnations of the John Hartford String Band.”
A descendant of Patrick Henry and cousin of Tennessee Williams, Hartford, in what would be the final year of his life, received a Grammy for his contributions to the soundtrack of the O’ Brother Where Art Thou hit movie. Along with Alison Krauss, Ralph Stanley and other artists from that platinum-selling album, he performed as part of Down from the Mountain, a documentary and recording of their concert at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium.
A mentor for a generation of bluegrass players, Hartford died June 4, 2001, at 63 after a two-decade battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
For more information about the John Hartford: Ever Smiling, Ever Gentle on My Mind exhibit, please contact the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum at www.countrymusichalloffame.com or by calling (615) 418-2001,
Sources
John Hartford Biography, n.d. Accessed Jan. 13, 2009, at http://www.johnhartford.com/biography.cfm
John Hartford, Wikipedia entry. Accessed Jan. 13, 2009.
Rush, Jeremy. John Hartford: Ever Smiling, Gentle on My Mind to Open at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on January 24, press release. Received Jan. 9, 2009.
Lisa L. Rollins - Texas native Lisa L. Rollins, Ph.D., is an award-winning feature writer, interviewer and journalism educator.
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