Died On This Date (December 29, 1980) Tim Hardin / Popular American Folk Singer
themusicsover Tim Hardin
December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980
Tim Hardin was an American folk singer and songwriter who is best remembered for his “If I Were a Carpenter” and “Reason to Believe.” After serving a tour of duty as a marine in Vietnam, Hardin moved to New York City where he became immersed in the local folk scene. In 1963, he moved to Boston where he was signed to a recording contract with Columbia Records. Unfortunately, Columbia didn’t quite understand what they had in Hardin, so he was dropped from the label before any records were released. He was soon snapped up by Verve who began releasing a series of albums that are considered milestones of the folk movement. His songs have been made into hits by the likes of Johnny Cash, Rod Stewart, Bobby Darin and Robert Plant. Hardin had been struggling with both stage fright and heroin (which he had been introduced to in Vietnam), so he never was able to fully capitalize on the popularity of his songs due to his lack of consistent touring. For financial reasons, he had to sell off his songwriting rights during the late ’70s. On December 29, 1980, Tim Hardin, age 39, died of a heroin and morphine overdose.
What You Should Own
Dennis Wilson was the founding drummer of the Beach Boys. It was Dennis who originally approached brother, Brian Wilson to form a band to write and perform songs about the beach life. And if any member of the group best exemplified that lifestyle, it was carefree Dennis, who in fact, was the only one who actually surfed. Although he primarily played the drums and sang back-up for the group, Dennis occasionally sang lead and would play the guitar and piano on his later solo albums. For the Beach Boys, Dennis sang “Do You Wanna Dance?” and “This Car of Mine.” In 1971, Dennis flirted with movie stardom by co-starring with Warren Oates and James Taylor in the now cult-classic film, Two-Lane Blacktop. During the late ’70s, Dennis released Pacific Ocean Blue, which although it didn’t sell terribly well, was a critical success and built itself a cult following in later years. Until it’s reissue in 2008, copies of it could fetch over $100 on eBay. Dennis suffered from personal demons most of his adult life, and with that came struggles with alcohol. On December 28, 1983, an apparently drunk Dennis drowned while diving to recover lost personal items at the marina where his old boat had once been docked. He was 39. Dennis’ father, 
Delaney Bramlett was one of popular music’s greatest unsung heroes. During a career that spanned four decades, he either produced, played with, or wrote songs for a who’s who of rock music. As a producer, Bramlett collaborated with the likes of Eric Clapton, the Staple Singers and 
Vic Chesnutt was a respected singer-songwriter from the Athens, Georgia area. Chesnutt began writing songs when he was just five years old. He’s one of those rare talents that was rightfully called a songwriter’s songwriter. When he was 18, Chesnutt was involved in a car accident that left him confined to a wheelchair and in need of medical care through the rest of his life. His big break came in the late ’80s when R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe discovered his talent and produced his first two albums. Over the course of his career, he released over a dozen studio albums. In 1996, artists like Madonna, R.E.M., and the Smashing Pumpkins came together to record his songs for an album that was to help him with his skyrocketing medical bills. Ironically, he wasn’t eligible to collect the funds since he had medical insurance. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to cover the expenses. On December 24, 2009, Vic Chesnutt was reported to have been in a coma following an overdose of muscle relaxants. He died on Christmas Day at the age of 45.