# John Hartford - Kentucky Tunes



## Meanderer (Aug 27, 2015)




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## Lara (Aug 27, 2015)

What a treat. I thought Glen Campbell wrote Gentle On My Mind so I looked it up…had no idea it was John Hartford. Great lyrics. Hartford wrote it after he saw Dr. Shivago, one of my favorite movies. I wonder what his inspiration was exactly in that movie. I guess Yuri Shivago's memory of Lara during their separate journeys…ever gentle on his mind.  The performance posted above is gentle and he's a gentle spirit. I was quite entertained in the middle by the impromprovisation of steps and beats. Very fun.
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NASHVILLE — John Hartford, the author of “Gentle on My Mind,” one of the most recorded songs in mainstream American popular music...“John Hartford was one of the nicest and most unassuming people I’ve ever known,” said Frances W. Preston, president and CEO of Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI). “I don’t think he realized how great he really was, even though his ’Gentle on My Mind,’ one of BMI’s most performed songs, is now in its fifth decade of popularity. He was a gifted songwriter, a music historian and a wonderful storyteller.”
Hartford appears twice on the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack, the million-selling CD credited with inspiring a revival of interest in acoustic traditional music. 
He grew up in St. Louis, where he acquired a lifelong love of riverboats. After achieving some success as a professional musician, Hartford found time to pursue his love of riverboat lore, even working for a time as a boat captain.
A talented multi-instrumentalist, Hartford was also drawn to the music of Flatt & Scruggs. He moved to Nashville in 1965 and released his debut album,  John Hartford Looks at Life, in 1966. The song...has been recorded — between 400 and 600 times, by one estimate — and performed — more than 6 million, according to one count. The song also won three Grammys.
Hartford wrote the song after going to see “Dr. Zhivago.” “I have never really understood commercial music like I’ve wanted to,” Hartford admitted in Dorothy Horstman’s book, “Sing Your Heart Out Country Boy,” “and I have no idea, except for the message in that song, why it was a hit.”
Hartford’s fame increased through regular appearances on ’60s TV shows “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” and “The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour.” 
“He was more devoted than any musician in Nashville to the history of the music,” said country music historian and Middle Tennessee State University professor Charles Wolfe. “He would talk to older musicians and get their stories. His last big project was a massive book about Ed Haley, a legendary fiddler who never made any commercial recordings.”
Wolfe also praised Hartford for his musicianship. A popular entertainer, onstage Hartford always sported a black vest and a black bowler hat. “He was probably the most respected musician in Nashville.”
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He died at 63 of cancer…way too young and such a loss.


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## Meanderer (Aug 28, 2015)

Thank you, Lara, for the backstory and history on John.  I remember him from the Glen Campbell Show.  I had fun with his toe tapping as well, and liked his understated way of performing.  Bowler hat & vest, and a riverboat captain as well??  The beat of a different drummer, for sure.


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## Shirley (Aug 28, 2015)

*Bravo! Bravo! *:applouse::applouse:


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## Meanderer (Aug 29, 2015)




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## Meanderer (Aug 30, 2015)




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## Shirley (Aug 30, 2015)

That's what I call heartland music.


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## Lara (Aug 31, 2015)

Love The Steamboat Captain. One thing he said though I'm still pondering, "Style comes by limitations". I can't get my head around that yet but I'm mulling it over.


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## Meanderer (Aug 31, 2015)

Lara said:


> Love The Steamboat Captain. One thing he said though I'm still pondering, "Style comes by limitations". I can't get my head around that yet but I'm mulling it over.


[h=1]Why placing limitations on yourself is the key to creativity[/h]
http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/...ng-limitations-on-yourself-is-key-creativity/


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## Meanderer (Sep 2, 2015)

[h=2]John Hartford - Kentucky Tunes[/h]


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## Shirley (Sep 2, 2015)

:clap:


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## Meanderer (Sep 5, 2015)

Aboard the Julia Belle Swain


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## Meanderer (Sep 8, 2015)

Yesterday, I had a weird experience...I saw a young John Hartford and Glen Campbell singing Gentle on My Mind, on PBS!


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## Meanderer (Sep 10, 2015)




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## Lara (Sep 11, 2015)

Good finds! Here's one close to home but *where ARE those NCarolina boys *:love_heart:
_(and thank you for that explanation of "Style comes by limitations" in post #9. I totally get that now. Fun art too)
_
The Boys From North Carolina:


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## Meanderer (Sep 11, 2015)

Thanks, Lara!  What a treat that was!  Reminded me a little of your Porch music!  We could probably squeeze them in...I'll fetch more chairs!  HAHA!


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## Lara (Sep 11, 2015)

haha, yep, It's gettin pretty cozy on that porch over there :grouphug:
with Uncle Joel and all his neighbors, Taj and Corey, all the sax players, 
and our SE friends…even donald duck made an appearance!…and I've got an
invitation out now to all those "Boys From North Carolina"…oh yes.

Here's Hartford with Johnny Cash paying tribute to Bill Monroe, a *Bluegrass *great!


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## Meanderer (Sep 17, 2015)

John Hartford & Gillian Welch - Indian War Whoop!


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## Meanderer (Sep 25, 2015)




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## dangerwillrobinson (Sep 29, 2015)

Best Hartford, EVER!!!


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