The late John Hartford seems, to this writer, to be criminally overlooked these days, 23 years after his passing. For those who remember him well it’s his fiddle and banjo-infused songs along with his love of the Mississippi river which stand out while his 1971 album ‘Aereo-Plain’ is considered one of the first truly modern bluegrass albums. Hartford went out on a high having won a Grammy for his contribution to the ‘Oh Brother, Where Art Thou’ soundtrack.
This wasn’t his first Grammy. Travel back to the sixties and his second album ‘Earthworks & Music’, released in 1967. There’s a song in there called ‘Gentle On My Mind’ which found its way to Glen Campbell who had a hit with his cover version of it. Between Campbell, Hartford and the song itself, they garnered four Grammy awards that year (Glen Campbell “Best Country & Western Solo Vocal Performance, Male” and “Best Country & Western Recording.” John Hartford “Best Folk Performance” and “Best Country & Western Song”). Aside from the accolade of winning these awards, the song’s success financed much of Hartford’s career, reportedly he was earning $170,000 a year in royalties from it at one point.
Reason enough then to peer into this early 1970’s clip from the TV show, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour where the pair unite to sing their gold-plated pension plan.
