My memories of John Hartford

Kitty Darst shares some memories of John:

Say what ya gotta say!: John and I went to school together for six years. He used to organize the most amazing student assemblies, usually featuring some "champeen" fiddle player from the Ozarks. I don't know what the "talent" thought of us city kids, but we were polite. He drew and painted pictures of steamboats; and in the summers, he worked on the river. One summer, he worked on the Delta Queen and he talked about her so constantly I assumed that at LEAST he must have been an apprentice pilot. Not so. Not long after we graduated, our school published a very short-lived magazine that is hard to characterize. In any case, John's mom wrote an article about the Delta Queen summer; and John had been only a night watchman! Now, I know night watchmen are necessary in the great scheme of things, but I was SO disillusioned! We all have our mothers. . .

One thing that has not been mentioned about John in any of the material I've seen is his work on Ken Burns' Civil War opus, perhaps the best television this country ever has been lucky enough to see.

John Hotze shares some memories of John:

I think it may have been the summer of 1955, during one of my many trips to Nashville, to see the Grand Ole Opry. You have to realize these were "Leave It To Beaver" times in America. This story actually should start at Paul's paper stand just up the street from where I lived. Paul and I made many plans and dreams of our next trip to Nashville around the fire barrel at Laclede Station Road & Big Bend, where Paul sold newspapers. "I sell the morning paper sir, my name is Paul Briedenbach". Sorry, it doesn't flow just right, does it? Paul & I weren't even old enough to drive when we started going to the Opry together. We took a Greyhound Bus to Nashville and stayed at the Conrad Davis Hotel when we were only 14 years old. That might give you an idea of Paul's and my passion for music back then.

Paul and I were up in Studio C at WSM (housed in the National Life & Accident Insurance building), watching either the Friday Night Folic or one of the pre-Opry shows. I shot the photo posted here that night. You can see Uncle Josh, Curly Seckler, Paul Warren, and of course Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs in photo. WSM was only a couple blocks up the street from the Ryman Auditorium & our hotel. I remember Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs had just finished performing. It may have been a break or possibly the end of the shows for that evening, when we got to talking with this guy about how much we liked (understatement) bluegrass music. John Harford introduced himself to us and we got into a discussion about bluegrass. As our discussion went on, we found out that John lived only a few miles from us.

That was the beginning of a long friendship, brought on because of three peoples love of bluegrass. I have many fond memories of visiting and jamming with John at his house on Waterman or mine on St. George Place. I'll share more of my memories, as time goes on. I'm sure I took the photo above that night I met John Harford. In the background, you're hearing John on a recording that I made in his living room on Waterman in University City, Missouri about 54 years ago.I was able to digitize it from one of my old reel to reel tape recordings.

John Hotze

Have your own memories of John Hartford that you would like to submit to the site?  Click Here!

 

Chris “Captain Gadget” Curtis shares some memories of John:

I have attached a tune that John was gracious enough to play fiddle on back in the Spring of 1981. The recording took place in the parking lot next to where the Julia-Belle Swain riverboat was docked in Peoria, IL..

John had agreed to play on the tune earlier at the request of Gary “Crow” Carroll, author of and Lead Singer on the tune. Mike Grimm, our drummer and Recording Engineer, owned a portable recording studio called “Real to Reel” Recording. We used it to record the entire album called “Legends in Our Spare Time” by my band Mackinaw.

Mike drove the truck down to the parking lot shortly before 9:00pm, the time when the Julia-Belle returned from her final run of the day. John, who piloted the riverboat that evening, said “First I have to take out the garbage.” And that he did! He emptied all of the large rubber trash cans used to collect empty soda cans and other such passenger waste on the boat. Then he got out his fiddle and went over to the recording van where he listened to the tune and devised and practiced a number of appropriate licks. He sat on the floor of the van centered between its two side doors. A small, but very high quality, studio microphone attached to the boom arm of a microphone stand was used to record John’s numerous cuts. He was a perfectionist and, once he was generally satisfied with a cut, took a few tries at improving a small part of the cut near the end.

Coincidently, there was a TP&W train that blew its horn during John’s final take on the improved ending to his solo. We were all dismayed but, after listening to it over and over again, we decided to leave it because John said “It’s in perfect tune with the song and played exactly at the same time I held a long note so let’s leave it!” And we did just that.

John wanted to contribute on the song for free but was adamant that we pay him whatever the Musicians Union’s minimal scale was and file a contract. I filled one out for $105 and John and I both signed it. At the end of the evening I gave him a check for $105 and we then presented him and Marie with a cake that Crow Carroll’s sister baked just for the occasion.

A little known event in the life of the great John Hartford; whom we all miss.

Chris “Captain Gadget” Curtis
Lead Guitarist and Band Leader of Mackinaw

Download Embed Embed this video on your site