Died On This Date (June 4, 2001) John Hartford / Influential Folk & Bluegrass Pioneer
themusicsover John Hartford (Born John Harford)
December 30, 1937 – June 4, 2001
John Hartford was a beloved folk singer-songwriter who was also proficient in several stringed instruments. He is probably mostly associated with the banjo and fiddle. Hartford mastered those instruments while still in his mid teens, and by the time he was in college, he had already built a name for himself throughout the St. Louis music scene. Hartford released his first album, Looks At Life, on RCA Records in 1966. A year later, he put out its follow-up album, which included the song, “Gentle On My Mind.” Soon made into a pop hit by Glen Campbell, the tune earned Hartford two Grammys. It has also been covered by Elvis Presley, R.E.M., Johnny Cash, Lucinda Williams, and Dean Martin, to name a few. During the ’70s, Hartford released a string of albums that would lay the foundation for the “newgrass” movement to follow – a more electrifying form of bluegrass, sometimes even incorporating drums. His 1976, Mark Twang earned Hartford another Grammy while his contributions to the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack of 2000 landed him yet another. Hartford battled Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma for the better part of the the last 20 years of his life, finally forcing him to retire from the road in 2001. It wasn’t long after that he died as a result of the disease on June 4, 2001. He was 63.
What You Should Own
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Nick Drake was an English singer-songwriter who in spite of selling in the neighborhood of just 5000 copies of each of his albums when released, went on to become one of the most influential and respected artists of his generation. Drake came to relative prominence during the British folk movement of the late ’60s and early ’70s. Oft compared to the likes of 
Although he was small in stature, picked the guitar lightly, and sang almost in a whisper, Mississippi John Hurt’s influence on folk and blues was huge. He learned to play the guitar before he was ten, and by the early 1920s, he had already been playing in front of crowds at local barn dances. In 1928, and on the recommendation of a friend who had recently won an Okeh Records contract in a talent contest, Hurt was asked to audition for the label. He was signed that same year and given two recording sessions that produced collection of sides that sadly, never had a chance to develop since Okeh soon went under due to the Great Depression. Hurt soon retired from the music business and went back to his life as a sharecropper. Fast forward about 35 years to 1963. The folk revival was in full swing when music historian, Tom Hoskins heard those old recordings and sought out to find Hurt. He tracked him down still living in Avalon, Mississippi and convinced him to move to Washington DC and relaunch his music career. Hurt’s set at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival was that of legend, and he was subsequently signed to legendary folk label, Vanguard Records. He went on to tour the country and even perform on the Tonight Show With Johnny Carson. Hurt’s music influenced a new generation of singer-songwriters from blues to country to folk. Mississippi John Hurt died of a heart attack on November 2, 1966. In 2001, Morgana Kennedy and the folks at Vanguard records released Avalon Blues: A Tribute to the Music of Mississippi John Hurt. It contained versions of John Hurt songs by the likes of Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Ben Harper, Beck and John Hiatt.