The Naughty Bits: The Golden Globe Award

John Hartford : The Golden Globe Award


[Purchase]

I think it's probably fair to assume that John Hartford, best known as the songwriter behind "Gentle On My Mind", is a breast man. The Grammy winning artist played banjo on The Byrds' legendary foray into country music, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, and sang on the best selling soundtrack to O Brother Where Art Thou? Somewhere in between, for the 1976 album Nobody Knows What You Do, he recorded this tribute to his girlfriend's breasts:
"Ah, those golden globes, there ain't none better / Gotta have 'em both 'cause they both go together."

Doublespeak: Mouth to Mouth Resuscitation

John Hartford: Mouth to Mouth Resuscitation

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John Hartford was a multi-instrumentalist, voice over actor, steamboat captain, and folk composer. He is one of the finest song writers in the folk style that I've ever heard. I don't know why he isn't more famous than he is.

Now, the mystery is that there is very little information on the vast internet about the featured song and the album that it comes from, Gentle On My Mind and Other Originals. Of course, Google searches for Gentle On My Mind return hundreds of references to Glen Campbell's smash hit cover of Hartford's song of the same name. But this wonderful album, being currently out of print, is only available on vinyl and is not even linked at all on Hartford's Wikipedia page. AllMusic provides the only review I could find, but the review is odd (e.g., Mouth to Mouth is referred to as a "chilling" song. Uh, I don't quite hear "chilling". Do you?)

Internet, you have disappointed me. I thought you knew everything.

Here's the bonus: There are two songs on Gentle On My Mind that match this week's theme. The other is the beautiful The Tall Tall Grass. Enjoy.

Summertime: Long Hot Summer Days

John Hartford: Long Hot Summer Days

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It's been over 90 degrees in East Tennessee every day this week. We aren't exactly used to that around here.

It's the kind of week that this song was written for.

Christmastime: On Christmas Eve

John Hartford: On Christmas Eve

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Master songsmith John Hartford was notorious for preferring life on the river to anything else, even music. So it's no surprise to find him lonesome and soul-searching on a full moon Christmas Eve, staring into the muddy Mississippi, wondering why he prefers the sound of the steam, the sight of the Pitman arm coming around again, the spanish moss and a bonfire on the moonlit banks to family.

To be fair, though, Hartford's simple, loving celebration of the lyrical elements of the Louisiana river setting is its own answer.

It's true that there are many lonely souls this time of year, yearning to be taken in by the company of friends. But for all those who prefer the company of the self at the holidays, this song offers an unparalleled template for comfort and joy.

Basslines: Back in the Goodle Days

John Hartford: Back in the Goodle Days

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Haven't had a good Hartford post on here in a while... so why not serve up a nice, progressive, bluegrass bassline?

Randy Scruggs does the honors here on "Back in the Goodle Days" from Hartford's classic Aereo-Plain album from 1971. The bassline here is simple and understated, and at times buried a bit in the mix. It does, however, set the tone for the track right from the start and provide a strong, loping beat for the rest of the band (Vassar Clements, Tut Taylor, Norman Blake, and Hartford... a tremendous line up) to play over.

The interaction between Scruggs' bass and Hartford's banjo in the song's intro is especially soothing.

Fifty States: North Carolina

John Hartford: The Boys From North Carolina

[purchase]

I did a whole week of Carolina coversongs over at Cover Lay Down this April in honor of my first vacation down there. Ever since, I've been waiting for the chance to share this great original tribute to Earl Scruggs from one of the best folk/country/bluegrass musicians I know. With clawhammer banjo master Bob Carlin, who hails from Lexington, North Carolina.

Boats: Steamboat Edition

John Hartford: Steamboat Whistle Blues [purchase]

John Hartford: Julia Belle Swain [purchase]

Jimmy Work: Hear That Steamboat Whistle Blow [purchase]

John Hartford was truly one of the greats. He's not as well known as he should be, but almost everyone’s heard his most famous composition Gentle On My Mind, which was a huge hit for Glen Campbell in 1968. Campbell’s version alone has received more than 5 million radio plays, and the song has been covered by hundreds of other artists.

So what do you do when you’ve got a hit song under your belt and royalty money coming in? Well, if you’re John Hartford, the answer is to get a job as a steamboat captain and go have yourself some fun on the river.

Hartford, a man of many talents, not the least of which was banjo picking, was a frequent guest pilot on the Julia Belle Swain out of Peoria. Notably, the Julia Belle Swain bested the heavily-favored Delta Queen to win the Great American Steamboat Race of 1976.

Learn more about John Hartford (and get more songs) here.

Learn more about Jimmy Work, another under-appreciated country great, here.

Where else but a muddy old river, would a person want to be?

2:42 - History of Bluegrass Music

[ purchase ] Mark Twang by John Hartford

John Hartford: Tater Tate and Allen Mundy

Before the switch you have to hear this track by John Hartford, in which he squeezes a concise history of the best pickers to 2 minutes 42 seconds, and still has time to sing a little about the joys of bluegrass in general. From Mark Twang, a one-man album featuring John on banjo, fiddle, floorboard, hambone, vocals, and mouth effects.