Biography
"it's knowin that your door is always open and your path is free to walk
that makes me tend to leave my sleeping bag rolled up and stashed behind your couch
and it's knowing I'm not shackled by forgotten words and bonds
and the inkstains that have dried upon some line
that keeps you in the backroads by the rivers of my memory
that keeps you ever gentle on my mind."
"Gentle On My Mind" by John Hartford
John Hartford once practiced playing his face while he soaked in the bathtub. Now, to the delight of viewers, hosts and technical crews, he plays his face on national television. And his fiddle. And his banjo. And his guitar. And he tap-clogs in tennis shoes on a 4' x 8' piece of fresh plywood, "A" grade on each side to insure the electrically amplified thumps resonate in the right key.
He sings, too, in an intimate baritone which he pushes, when the song and moment are right, into a falsetto. He writes a lot of music, and his talents in that area have been officially recognized: he won two Grammy Awards for his popular music standard "Gentle On My Mind" and a third for his album MARK TWANG.
Once he was forced to choose between the two greatest passions in his life -- music and riverboat life. For a time he had to concentrate solely on the music, to focus his attention on establishing and sustaining a career. But the river was always inside him, and eventually he began to go back to it. Along the way he earned a license as a riverboat pilot. He became an ever more frequent crew member on board the lyrically beautiful sternwheeler JULIA BELLE SWAIN. He expanded his responsibilities as curator of an outstanding collection of riverboat memorabilia. He changed his life to eliminate the either-or dilemma, to allow music and riverboats to coexist in his life
Today John Hartford is in constant, harmonious communication with his audiences during his performances, and often leaves the stage to dance in the aisles and sing and play to his fans one on one. Today John Hartford, riding a new wave of success in a career that has yet to peak, shares not only his music, but a bit of himself with his audiences, and they love him for it all the more.
© 1996 Tech-knowledge Publishing
