For my dad

Stu Smith, 1936-2009

My dad passed away on Christmas Eve. He was a great guy who always got the most out of life. He loved his old sailboat and his old cabin in the north woods (even though it lacked indoor plumbing). He also loved a cold beer and a good tune.

To honor his memory I decided to resurrect this blog and post a few of his favorite songs here. Those of you who have spent time with Stu will remember hearing many of them on the boat, by the barbecue, or at the cabin. Some of them I've enjoyed my whole life (thanks to him).

Lyle Lovett - If I Had A Boat (buy). My dad loved every kind of boat from canoes to freighters and spent as much time as he could near the water. This was one of his favorite boat songs.

Jimmy Buffett - Son Of A Son Of A Sailor (buy). Another regular tune heard on Smith family sailboat rides. Almost always with beer in hand.

The Country Gentlemen - Fox On The Run (buy). My dad's favorite style of music was bluegrass, so naturally I learned this one at a young age.

The Osborne Brothers - Rocky Top (buy). You can't have one without the other (at least you couldn't in our house growing up).

Lucinda Williams - Crescent City (buy). "Everybody's had a few." I know that feeling. So did my dad. My dad enjoyed having fun with family and friends at our favorite spots. Giving this album to my dad was probably my most successful music recommendation ever. He really loved it.

Tom T. Hall - The Little Lady Preacher (buy). My dad was a clever guy. So it's no surprise he was a big Tom T. Hall fan. He really liked the funny ending to this one.

Bill Monroe - I'm Going Back To Old Kentucky (buy). You can't be a bluegrass fan without playing a lot of Bill Monroe, which my dad did frequently.

The Stanley Brothers - Rank Strangers (buy). Another one of my dad's favorite bluegrass songs.

Glen Campbell - Gentle On My Mind (buy). This was a huge hit back in the 1960's when my sister and I came into my dad's life. The songwriter, John Hartford, with his love of life (and boats), reminds me of my dad.

Gordon Lightfoot - Christian Island (buy). This song about enjoying a quiet time on a sailboat in the Summer on Georgian Bay. This one best captures my dad's general attitude towards life. He usually liked the mood he was in, especially on his sailboat (at least when the wind was cooperating).

John Denver - Country Roads (live) (buy). If he wasn't on a boat, then my dad wanted to be on a two-track country road.

Willie Nelson - My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (buy). Finally, here's a song from one of my dad's favorite artists that was used in one of his favorite movies.

John Hartford: An American Classic

John Hartford is described in his AMG bio as "a multi-talented old-time musician, a riverboat captain pilot, a satirical songwriter, a one-man showman of exceptional talents, and one of the founders of both progressive country music and old-time string music revivalism." Impressive. Add to that list: master of the five-string banjo and session man on The Byrds seminal Sweetheart Of The Rodeo album. Given his many talents and compelling life story, its surprising that John Hartford isn't more well known.

If you are one of the many music fans who has not yet discovered John Hartford, I encourage you to read about his life in the bios, reviews, and other materials linked here. But first let's get to the music...

The Big Hit: Gentle On My Mind

This is the song that made John Hartford's career (and paid his bills for years). Glen Campbell's version was a hit in the late 1960's. It's a simple classic that still sounds fresh today.

John Hartford - Gentle On My Mind (buy album).
Glen Campbell - Gentle On My Mind (buy album).


The Lost Classic: Aereo-Plain (1971)
Hartford might have been more of a commercial success if he had tried to capitalize on his big hit by sticking to precisely the same formula (or by copying Glen Campbell), but that wasn't his way of doing business. Hartford continued to follow his own muse, which meant doing exactly what he wanted to do (including working as a riverboat captain). Aereo-Plain was the musical result, and it is a must-have album for anyone interested in bluegrass, country, alt-country, Americana, or folk music. Unfortunately--and inexplicably--it's now out of print. (Time for a deluxe re-issue!) The lynchpin of Aereo-Plain is the song "Back In The Goodle Days," a friendly, laid-back celebration of the future good old days, i.e., the present. For more information about Aereo-Plain, read: Stylus Magazine and The Rising Storm.

Back In The Goodle Days
Presbyterian Guitar

The Companion Piece: Steam Powered Aero-Takes
Oddly enough, this great collection of outtakes from the Aereo-Plain sessions is still in print. It makes a nice compliment to Aereo-Plain. There are also some alternate versions of some songs from the out-of-print Morning Bugle.



Because Of You (buy album).


Another Out-Of-Print Classic: Morning Bugle (1972)
Morning Bugle is almost just as good as Aereo-Plain and a bit less eccentric. My favorite track is "Nobody Eats At Linebaugh's Anymore," a poignant piece about the changes in downtown Nashville during the 1970's.




Nobody Eats At Linebaugh's Anymore
Howard Hughes' Blues


Mark Twang (1976)
This album is 50% riverboat folk music and 50% humor/novelty tunes. "The Lowest Pair" is sure to offend some, but it has one of my favorite John Hartford lines: "Give us today hors d'oevres in bed..." And it's a great example of Hartford's infectious sense of humor, which is present throughout all of his work. The Julia Belle Swain (pictured above) is the riverboat that Hartford captained in the 1970s.

The Julia Belle Swain
The Lowest Pair (buy album).


Nobody Knows What You Do (1976)
This album features a classic Hartford song that makes me want to quit my job. Gillian Welch did a nice live cover at the Mountain Stage tribute concert.






John Hartford - In Tall Buildings (buy album).
Gillian Welch - In Tall Buildings (Live) (buy album).


Live From Mountain Stage (2000)
Hartford returned to a more traditional style in his later years, as this nice live set demonstrates.

Lorena (buy album).







O Brother Where Are Thou? (2000)
Just like the Soggy Bottom Boys, John Hartford was steeped in the old-timey tradition, so it made perfect sense for him to contribute a few tracks to this popular soundtrack, including this fiddle piece.




Man Of Constant Sorrow (Instrumental) (buy album).

Video: Gentle On My Mind (with Glen Campbell), Bluegrass Medley (with Johnny Cash).

More information: Wikipedia, The Tennessean.

John Hartford died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2001. Before his death a tribute concert was held in his honor. The final track from that concert, recorded by Hartford, says a lot about his engaging personality:

Give Me The Flowers While I'm Alive (buy album).

Hopefully the fine American music featured in this post will encourage you to further explore John Hartford's catalog. And tell your friends too!