Artist:John Hartford
Song:Back In The Goodle Days
Album:Aereo-Plain
John Hartford is best known for writing Gentle On My Mind for Glen Campbell. He made enough money from that to be complacent but instead he advanced the art of bluegrass music. Many experts including Sam Bush of New Grass Revival credit Hartford with the invention of what is known as Newgrass music. He was born John Harford Dec. 30, 1937 in New York City but grew up in St. Louis. It was here that he began his long romance with the Mississippi River and worked on a riverboat at age 10. He liked bluegrass music and learned to play the banjo and fiddle as a teen. He moved with his wife to Nashville in 1965 and the Glaser Brothers started promoting his songs. This landed him a contract with RCA and Chet Atkins added the 't' to his name. His second album contained Gentle On My Mind. Not only was it a huge hit for Glen Campbell but Hartford moved to Los Angeles and was a regular on Campbell's variety show. Hartford moved back to Nashville in 1970 and had the financial security to allow him to pursue his love of bluegrass music. He recorded Aereo-Plain for Warner Bros. in 1971. The album included bluegrass masters Norman Blake (guitar) & Vassar Clements (fiddle) and the quirky songs like Back In The Goodle Days made it a cult hit. Rounder rereleased Areo-Plain on CD in 1997 and also released a CD of outtakes. Hartford also recorded for Flying Fish, Rounder and his own Small Dog Barking label. He suffered from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma but continued to be a very popular live draw until his death on June 4, 2001 at age 63. He also contributed to the film Oh Brother, Where Art Thou. John Hartford's music is a must for country & bluegrass fans. Here's John Hartford performing Gentle On My Mind on the John Byner show in 1970.
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