He was a Hall-of-Fame musician, award-winning songwriter,
steamboat pilot, author, artist, disc jockey, calligrapher,
dancer, folklorist, father, historian, and frustrated librarian.
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.
“Had I not made this record,
I would have still made these songs
and sung them to my family,
my friends, and then softly to myself.”
(after the recording of his first record)
