Posted by Todd Nichols on June 06, 101 at 18:37:03:
I first almost met John at the Ohio State Fair in 1968.
I was 6 years old. My Dad Played 2 old RCA albums over and over (Housing Project & The Love Album) and we always watched him on T.V. He was sitting in a tent watching a local band when my Dad spotted him and tried to get me to go up and say "Hi". By the time I finally started towards him he got up and walked away. Then, some 20 years later my Dad and I went to see him perform in Bloomington, IN. This time I did get to meet and talk with him and get a picture with him as my Dad related the story that he had told for years to John. It was a really special moment.
I discovered Areo-Plane & Morning Bugle when I was 16
and starting to play guitar and what a great way to learn...I loved those Albums and the rest of the 70's stuff that followed and couldn't wait for the next release!
When I was 18 I went on the road with a band and still to this day remember the first time I was driving the Motorhome, pullng a trailor somewhere in Illinois, snaking around on some highway that was along the Mississippi River at daybreak. It was dark, foggy and I might have been just a lttle bit tired. All of a sudden the line from this song popped into my head...
"Darker than the inside of a cow, ain't nothin' like a muddy ole river to straighten your head right out". I started singing that song, and then the rest of the album. I felt like John was there in spirit...and he might have been. His music has a large spot in my cd collection and gets played often and will always continue to be played and shared with friends.
Thanks, Mr. Hartford. A fan for life...