A note to ask my friends to send out a good thought and prayer for
one heck of a guy. John Hartford is about to pass on and is not able
to communicate now. I have found out that his family is not answering
any phone calls, but he is at home now from the hospital.
John Hartford has been a friend of mine since he flew to Nashville
from L.A. to be on my 2nd recording back in 1975 when I was just
thirteen. He was a prince and has always been there for me as a
friend and a colleague. When I was trying to figure out how to play
unaccompanied performances twelve years ago, it was John who gave the
words of encouragement I needed to have, while many others simply
doubted the possibility of my doing it.
John was also my mother's favorite person in the music business.
Thought he hung the moon. Just before losing my mother to cancer
almost 20 years ago, one of her last wishes was for my sister and I
to drive her across the country from Seattle to see John one last
time in Tennessee. It is also cancer that will take John Hartford
away from us very soon as well.
A collective prayer from my mailing list towards John Hartford would
be something great. The wonderful modern day minstrel one man show,
the author of one of the greatest hit songs of all time, Gentle On My
Mind, and those early memories of him and Glen Campbell on "The Good
Time Hour" in the late 60's prime time television will last with me
for ever and I am sure will endure with many of you. He was a
champion for the fiddle and collected as many original fiddle tune
manuscripts and the various literature as anyone I know. He continued
to practice furiously on the fiddle even until recently, setting out
to get better and better. And he did! He would come to my fiddle
camps in Tennessee and just hang out on the porch of the mess hall
playing away until way past the sun going down. For all of that and
more, I will think of you and love you forever John Hartford.
I also love your home there looking over that Cumberland River. The
thoughts of you dreaming about the old steamboats coming past you
from days gone by is a poignant one at this time.
I was on the nomination committee of the Kennedy Center Honors last
year and did nominate John Hartford. I bet one day you will get that
one too John. May God be with you.

Mark O'Connor

I certainly would like to join you in a prayer for John. He certainly did it his way.

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CJC

He stood his ground.....just kept on playing,
and not worrying too much about it......

Was part of the controversial/you'll-never-see-this-again-on-TV - "SMOTHER'S BROTHERS COMEDY HOUR".

As another great artist/musician summmed
it up ----- {HE} "I DIDN'T BOW DOWN".

Jackie and David

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www.steelinusa.com

John

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Fulawka D-10 9&5
"All in all, looking back, I'd have to say the best advice anyone ever gave me was 'Hands Up, Don't Move!"
www.johnbarnold.com/pedalsteel

He's a great entertainer. His songs about Nashville, "Nobody Eats at Limebaughs Anymore" and "They're Gonna Tear Down the Grand Old Opry" touched my heart.

His humorous songs, "Don't Leave Your Records in the Sun" and "My Rag", became part of my repetoire.

I just came back from an Everly Brothers concert. Of course Buddy was great, he was introduced as "The Maistro".

The legondary Albert Lee,their normal guitarist,couldn't make this part of the tour due to commitments in Europe.

His replacement, on tele and mandolin, was John's son Jamie Hartford.

Jamie did a fine job, even singing some harmony with the brothers.

God Bless ya Johnny!