The first two photos are the original lyrics to "Gentle On My Mind," written by John Hartford. Quickly composed after a night out at the movies, it has been recorded over 400 times by a mind-boggling list of artists including Glen Campbell, Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby & Count Basie, [...]
If you own a copy of the album, Nobody Knows What You Do, track seven lists a song titled, "Joseph's Dream," a catchy little number with a line that says, "just when you think it can't get no better then it does." Except...that's not "Joseph's Dream." Only the vinyl contains the original "Joseph's Dream"; on [...]
Rachel Baiman not only appeared on "Julia Belle: The John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project, Vol. 2," but she also graciously wrote the liner notes, which were nominated for an IBMA Industry award in 2025! We love her thoughts on John so much, and we've posted them here so you can read them, too. I have [...]
John and Vassar, plus Old & In The Way, Aereo-Plain, and Vassar's fiddle. It's all right here, in John's own words. John kept a lot of writing on 3x5 index cards, and filed them all away for reference. We don't know if he wrote these thoughts about Vassar Clements in 1993 for a book or [...]
For those familiar with John's love of 3x5 cards, this one is for you. The typed notes were saved for us by our dear friend, the late Dr. Terry Comer. Our understanding is that this is a handout from a keynote speech that John gave for the International Bluegrass Music Association. And if you're ready [...]
October 7, 2024 • 6-10pm • Nashville, TN Quick Livestream links: Official John Hartford YouTube The Violin Shop Facebook page You're invited to Hartford's Mammoth Marathon, led by Brittany and Natalie Haas! Attend either in-person at Nashville’s American Legion Post 82 or via livestream on the Hartford YouTube channel and The Violin Shop Facebook page. [...]
So many people have asked, "what did you do with John's archive?" To give you a little background...in 2007, about seven years after Dad passed, his estate settled and we were tasked with figuring out what to do with an extremely large storage unit full of stuff. Eric and I had just moved into a [...]
The Rare & Unreleased John Hartford: Backroads, Rivers & Memories If all John Hartford had done was to write “Gentle on My Mind”, his legend would be sealed as a songwriting giant. But his talent as a singer and instrumentalist catapulted him to fame not only as the banjo-playing sidekick on the "Glen Campbell Good Time Hour" TV [...]
Save the date! The John Hartford Memorial Festival #9 is returning to Bean Blossom, May 29th-June 1st, 2019! Follow this link for more details and information on how to get tickets (note: clicking on this link will take you to the John Hartford Memorial Festival website). https://www.johnhartfordmemfest.com/home
NASHVILLE, TN -- There are two exciting events coming up in July to celebrate the release of the brand new book, “John Hartford’s Mammoth Collection of Fiddle Tunes.” This unique anthology, gleaned from Hartford’s personal journals dating 1983-2001, contains 176 original fiddle compositions, personal drawings, rare photos, interviews, and narrative on his love for the [...]
