Articles on Tim Hardin
Below are a couple of articles published in newspapers and magazines. They are provided here for the benefit of fans. If the holders of the copyright of these articles is unhappy with their publication on this website, they need merely e-mail me and I shall remove them.
First is a piece that appeared in The Independent in January, 2004, under the title "Forgotten Heroes" by Bill Kenwright, the London theatre producer, interviewed by Charlotte Cripps.
Who is he?
An American folk singer/songwriter with a jazz obsession. His sound was brooding pain and melancholy lyrics that asked endless questions. Born in 1941, he produced an impressive body of work in the late sixties, without ever achieving mainstream success, mainly because he had a serious drug problem. He tried to make a comeback in the early seventies, with the help of Billy Gaff, Rod Stewart’s ex-manager, but Hardin quickly fell back into old habits. He died of a heroin overdose on 29 December 1980.
What did he do?
He came on to the music scene in the mid sixties as an average blues singer but by the time he had made his 1966 debut, he was writing confessional folk-rock. But sadly, Hardin’s work achieved far greater fame through covers from other singers – Rod Stewart’s version of Reason to Believe or Bobby Darin’s If I Were a Carpenter. Commercially, his success looked more unlikely as his health deteriorated. He did make an appearance at Woodstock 1969, but his albums grew more erratic and weird and sales fell. He did not complete any albums after 1973.
Why do I admire him?
There are certain people that don’t fit into any category and it is very hard for innovators to survive. But if ever there was a Renaissance Man, it was Tim Hardin. I am surprised more people don’t worship him. He once said, “To know jazz is to know God.” I’m no jazz aficionado, but if you hear his voice – especially on the song Hang On To a Dream, which was my first choice on Desert Island Discs – well, I still think I’ve died and gone to Heaven. Undoubtedly, he was his own worst enemy and by the mid-seventies his creative juices had dried up. But in the mid to late sixties, his music was breathtaking. He was a true romantic, writing simple songs about the promise of love and the disappointment of love.
The next article was published in a little-known Los Angeles magazine, WET, that existed in the late seventies and early eighties, but is now defunct. The article consisted of an interview with Tim, published in September 1980, four months before his death. It was conducted by Ann Bardach. I have edited the article somewhat - primarily to remove the profanities (of which there were many). Please bear in mind, when reading this interview, that he was not well and his views on events in his past were largely perceptions coloured by his drug intake. I am aware that some of the content is quite upsetting to Susan Hardin, to whom I passed a copy before putting it on the website. Nevertheless, she kindly gave me permission to make it available to website readers.
Before there was Bob Dylan, there was Tim Hardin. "He was the greatest," recalls a fan. "When I left home in '66, I knew every Tim Hardin song word for word. Everybody did." Indeed, there were a few years in the '60s when Tim Hardin turned out hits (Misty Roses, If I Were a Carpenter, Reason to Believe, Long Time Smuggling Man, etc.) with the speed and aim of a Gatling gun on remote. It wasn't just a repertoire of songs that went 'gold' or 'platinum', it was songs with indisputable claim as classics.
Quite simply, Time Hardin is the stuff of legends. Like Piaf, his personal tragedy was as well known as his songs. Music mags in the '60s chronicled his drug addiction, busts, shattered romances, and endless litigation over the millions of dollars of royalties earned by his songs. Music industry insiders speculate that Tim Hardin's songs have been recorded by more artists than any other songwriter of the '60s (e.g. Frank Sinatra, Rod Stewart, Joan Baez, Marianne Faithful, and Bob Singer, to mention a token few), yet Tim Hardin is broke. It's always been that way. An endless series of lawyers, agents, managers and record companies adept at labyrinthian contracts have kept Hardin on his knees begging for his dinner for more than a decade. Some will cooly cite Hardin's legendary heroin habit as the source of his poverty. Yes, to some degree - though many allegedly drug-addicted musicians live comfortably, if not luxuriously (Keith Richards takes a limo to his beach house in the Hamptons).
It's been almost 20 years since Hardin's heyday. For the last few years he has lived quietly with his companion Janet in a small West Hollywood apartment in the rear of a shingled cottage. Some half dozen gold and platinum records are on the wall, hung as indifferently as potholders. It is a tidy, clean place, with no frills - its furnishings are strictly utilitarian. By all reports, Hardin is "Clean, healthy and trying to trim his waistline." And he's just finished writing an album of new songs, which he is currently recording.
Ann Bardach: Let's start with the album, Tim Hardin I. Legend has it that Dylan once said you were the greatest song writer of our time when that album came out.
Tim Hardin: Yea, I played him part of the album one night and he started flipping out, you know...
How?
Man, he got down on his knees in front of me and said: Don't change your singing style and don't bleep 'a' blop...
When did you first meet Dylan? Was it before Tim Hardin I?
I met him when he was taking bennies and coming by saying, "I wrote a new tune, I wrote a new tune."
What year was that?
'62, '61.
When did you break with Dylan?
We never got together. He's a cold man. He was thinking, he was listening to what everybody said all the time and going, "Umhum, yup," and writing it down in his little photographic memory, you know what I mean? Taking pictures of everything and reproducing the whole lick for himself. Then he learned to give somebody else a little credit, by having their picture on the album or something.
Did you ever play with him?
Yeah. And Jesus. (laughs)
When did you make your first album?
I made This is Tim Hardin in 1961 and then it came out in 1967. The guy in the studio sold it to Ahmet Ertegun.
Did you have any problems?
What do you mean? Problems about collecting dough? (loud laughter) Aw, hey. I never got any money off him.
Did Tim Hardin I go gold?
There's not a record I've made that didn't.
Four albums?
Thirteen.
Albums?
Yeah. Two of them were anthologies so we're really talking about eleven, and two of them were repeats of other stuff, so we're talking about nine. But as far as releases go, it's 13. Right now, I'm so down and disconcerted, you know. People always wanted a piece of me, a piece of my songs. I don't have no protection, no contracts. I just talked to Johan Vigoda (rock star lawyer) the other night and I told him what happened. He flipped out. We were sitting in front of The Troubadour, Johan, who's a multimillionaire, is sitting there chewing on his own matchbook going "Tim, that's not legal. They couldn't have done that to you." . But they did it to me and it is legal.
What did you talk to him about?
I told him how I don't own any of the songs.
When did you start using junk?
I started using junk when I was sixteen.
How old are you now?
Thirty-seven. I've stopped.
Really?
Yeah, except for when I can't.
That's some way of stopping. You look clean.
I am clean.
And you've put on the traditional clean-up tummy.
The traditional fifty pounds.
You started using junk when you were sixteen?
In high school, playing football in Eugene, Oregon.
How did you get junk in Eugene, Oregon?
In a drugstore.
You mean you bought morphine?
No. I stole it.
You stole heroin, pharmaceutical heroin?
Dailudin, Pantathon, morphine.
But how did you know about it...?
I read about it. I was going out with a girl whose old man was a doctor and I got into his PDR [Physicians Desk Reference]. I like to read. I got a broken collar bone playing football so I went, "Hey, I can go right over to the Rexall. I know my way in." I lifted the safe, the whole thing.
Because you had a bad shoulder or because you had some pain between the ears?
No. Physical pain. I never even thought about stopping. First time I got off on smack I said, out loud, "Why can't I feel like this all the time?" So I proceeded to feel like that all the time.
Did you finish high school?
No. I went into the Marine Corps.
What year was this?
'59 is when I went in.
So you were in Korea.
No, no. We were busy startin' Vietnam.
Were you using dope while you were in the Marine Corps?
Oh, yeah.
How did you get it?
Corps men, Navy corps men. Spelled c-o-r-p-s-e men.
How did they get it for you?
They had a key.
To the medical safe?
Yeah.
When did you start playing guitar?
I got back from the Marines and my high school drama coach, who's a heavy named Ed Racazino. Mr Racazino. I still call him Mr Racazino. I can't call him Ed. You know what I mean? He sent a letter to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and I go over to New York. I got a scholarship behind an audition that I just made up.
You learned how to play the guitar at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts?
No. I left there after about six weeks. I went in there one day and the subway had goofed and I was late and I was rushing to class. They stopped me at the damn office. "Just a minute," and they gave me a pink slip for being late. So I go, "Aw, heck, not high school again." I had two twenty dollar travellers cheques left and I bought a Harmony nylon string guitar that cost exactly forty dollars. The guy saw that's what I had. I couldn't even afford a guitar book to learn chords with. I figured out some chords on my own and wrote a few tunes to fit what I knew on the guitar.
What year did you meet your wife, Susan?
'64...'65. I'm not good on dates. Susan came by to see the guy who was taking care of my pad, raking leaves and sweeping out the house, you know. She was the main star of The Young Marrieds, a soap opera which was the highest rated show on TV then, including prime time, and so she comes to the door. I'd never seen her before. She's good looking, you know. I said, "John's not here" and took her right back out the door. We went down and got a hamburger or something and went over to her pad and got it together. It was great.... We ended up at her house eating hamburgers, you know. We also ended up eating each other. You know what I mean? I dug her pad. She had dough on her and everything.... Then Susan comes up and moves into my pad, but this guy, Archie, a hit man I copped from all the time in New York shows up all of a sudden.
Why was Archie there? He was a hit man?
Yeah, but he's also a friend of mine and he decided to take over the pad, you know, because I owed him a couple of bucks. One night Archie says, "Listen, man, lend me your car. I got to cop." And I says, "No, man, I can't lend you Susan's car because that's the only car around."
In the morning Susan and I wake up and we go into the kitchen and we look out at the damn place where the car is supposed to be. We look out and the car isn't there. Then we realize, "Heck, man, the keys are gone."
About ten minutes later there was this terrible shriek, a shriek of car and tyres, and sca-plow right into the house across the street, right through the living room window. That was Archie who had stolen the car and was rushing back in desperation because he couldn't find the dough he's taken to cop with.
I said, "Archie, don't come back in here. I got a .44 magnum." I gave the gun to Susan and ran down the street to distract his attention. He ran after me. He was going to kill me. He could have done me so easy, but I could run. I was down on the corner by a liquor store when the cops came and I said, "He-ulp." Archie ran over my foot and tripped and the cops jumped out and got all of us.
Did you have dope on you?
Boy, did I ever. There was an ounce in the brick wall outside the house.
They busted you and Susan?
The cops goofed because they didn't have a search warrant or nothing.
It got thrown out of court. Where did Susan's father [Judge Morris] come in?
Susans' father was a judge. He was called while we were both in jail. I goofed on Archie. I told on him. I couldn't help it. I had to.
So what happened to him?
Archie got sent back to New York.
And you had been married for how long?
We weren't married until two weeks before Susan left me.
Your son Damian was already born when all of this happened?
I was holding Damian in my arms at the wedding.
So you were with Susan two years before you got married?
Call it five. She said, "Let's get married," made up little matchbooks and little mementos and everything. We had fifteen neat people come by and all. I wrote the ceremony myself. The Justice of the Peace was crying it was so beautiful.
And then two weeks later she was off.
Yup.
The two of you have never gotten it back together?
No. She asked me. She said, "Tim, please." I said, "I can't make love to you anymore. You can't make love to someone you really, you really basically hate."
It's rough for a non-junkie to live with a junkie.
But I was cool. I had gone on a methadone program. Everything was okay, man.... Well, I hit her a couple of times.
You hit her when you were angry?
It's a killer crime. People ought to be hung for it. It's a bad thing. Guys can kill girls easy. And it kills me that I did it, it just kills me (sobs. Five minute interruption.) I never lied to her. She taught me how to lie because her disapproval was so heavy. I couldn't stand it, you know, the dumb peasant. I don't mean peasant. I can't even think of the word. She made me feel bad.
There was a class thing there?
Which was part of the reason I loved her so much. I married a girl on the hill. But I'm smarter than she is. She dug that.
Do you see Damian?
Yeah. That's his school right over there. He's had his father all the time.
You're about the only musician alive right now who isn't a born-again Christian. Why do you think they're all into that?
Because they might die someday or something. I don't mind. I can watch people die. I've seen them. I've seen people croak and I've thrown them out the window. "Aw hey, man, Manny just died. What are we going to do with Manny?" Out the window because you don't want the body in the pad. You might get busted anyway for what you're doing already.
Busted for murder?
Who wants that?
Why did you stop using junk?
It got so inconvenient and I got broke.
Are you in a methadone program now?
Nope. I was on methadone for seven years. It's the hardest work there is. I kicked methadone, speed and Valium. That's how come I look fat. It's been two years now. I'm in perfect shape except for being overweight.
You look twenty pounds over and that's it.
Try fifty. You didn't ever see me at 140. I weight 190 pounds now. Do you believe a guy 5'6½" that weighs 190 pounds and can still move?
This interview was published in September, 1980 and Tim
died in December, 1980.
Your e-mails on Tim Hardin
When you send me e-mails, I store them all and from time to time, I'll put them onto this page so that fans can keep in touch with the various thoughts, opinions and experiences of others. Link: http://www.zipcon.net/~highroad/hardin.htm
This section has not been updated at the same time as the others (January, 2004). I do plan to add all your e-mails as soon as possible, but it is a major task, so please bear with me.
Most recent e-mails (June, 2000) are are the top of the page. I have given the name of each contributor, where possible, but not their e-mail address. If there is a point you wish to reply to, e-mail me and I'll try to forward it to the person listed here. I feel this is a fair way to guarantee privacy for people.
Where someone has asked a question, it is very likely that I have responded with an answer already, although there were some points that I couldn't help with. A lot of people wrote with information about Tim's last album, The Unforgiven, because I sought details about it on the website. The latest revision of the website has the full details now. I am grateful to the many people who contacted me about this - Brian.
I do not know if you are still looking for information on Tim Hardin's "Unforgiven" album, but I wanted to let you know that I do own a vinyl copy of it. I cannot tell if it is a bootleg or some sort of official release by a small company (I do believe that that's the case), but it is on San Francisco Sound records, catalog number SFS10810. The songs contained are "Unforgiven," "Luna Cariba," Mercy Wind," "If I Were Still With You," "Judge and Jury," "Partly Yours , " "Sweet Feeling," and "Secret." The cover contains a pencilled sketch of Tim on both sides, and on the label as well. It also contains a lyric sheet and the cellophane had a sticker reading "If you liked 'If I Were a Carpenter' and 'Reason to Believe, You 'll Love... [list of all songs on album]... The Only New Songs. These are the last eight memorable tunes written and recorded by Tim Hardin (Dec 1980)" (the lyric sheet and the sticker are what lead me to believe that this is a licensed product.) Unfortunately, I do not own a scanner, so I can't send you any pics, but I hope this has helped. Sincerely - Jyhm Calkins
Brian, I enjoyed your site. Tim Hardin was about as soulful a singer, songwriter, and performer as I've heard. He's been an inspiration and an influence since I've been a kid. (I'm a songwriter as well-see) On the re-released Woodstock movie there is addtional footage of Tim, looking very high, but singing like an angel-have you seen it? His song to Lenny Bruce is one doleful, and soulful lament from one junkie to another that is about as good as it gets. I use the "j" word with caution cause it really is a private matter but God I love that song. And Misty Roses is one of the greatest ballads ever written. Keep up the good work. It would be nice to get some historical footnotes and asides from those artists and others who had a chance to work with and know him. Kind Regards - Paul Metsa
Brian, I am writing this e-mail after reading your bio of Tim Hardin. You asked for additional facts or corrections, so here are a few. My information came directly from Tim. In (about) 1968, I was driving, with a friend, up highway 79 in Pennsylvania (USA), and picked up a hitchhiker. This hitchhiker told us his name was Tim Hardin, and that he was a singer & a songwriter, and that he "thought" he had a concert at a small Western Pennsylvania college (Allegheny). It turned out he had done the concert the week before and forgot about it. He said he had no money, but he would pay us back if we would pay his way back to New York (Woodstock). He said he was sick, and he really needed to get home. The truth is, neither my friend or I had ever heard of him. He did say, he had written "If I Were A Carpenter", however, we did not believe him. How about this for fate: The reason we were even on the highway, is because my friend and I had just been to Pittsburgh, PA, to buy heroin. Anyway, we told our rider, we would take him to the New York state line, after we stopped off at home. We wanted to go home first so we could get high. Home, was in Erie, PA, and as soon as we got there, I dropped off my friend and this hitchhiker, and went to a drug store to buy syringes. While at the shopping center, I went into a record store and looked up Tim Hardin . . . I found him, and he was our hitchhiker. As soon as I got home I ran in and told my friend that this guy really did write IIWAC. We were thrilled that someone famous was in our house. At any rate, we went upstairs to fix the drugs, and Tim heard us and came running up the stairs pleading at us to share . . . We did. We ended up driving Tim back to New York, and we shot dope the whole time. We really didn't even know anything about him, other than the liner notes I had read, but he told us all about himself on the way to NY. (He loved to talk about himself). Tim Hardin was a great guy. He never forgot what we did for him, and we used to go to Boston just to get high with him. We always had a blast, and he paid us back 100 times over for the ride and the drugs. Years later, I was living in Los Angeles, and I went to see him the afternoon of a show he was supposed to do that night. He was completely wasted, and no matter what we said to him, he had no plans to slow down. That night, at The Troubadour, during the second song of his set, Tim threw up off the side of the stage. The crowd began to boo him, he couldn't keep up with his band; he was a mess and he knew it. However, after a few minutes of booing and catcalls, Tim Hardin held up a hand until the noise stopped. He then sang, a cappella . . . for two hours. He was, the best I had ever heard him. When it was over, there were few dry eyes in the club. Everybody there, knew they were part of a really special show. Tim and I, and a few others shot dope well into the next day, and then I moved back to the East Coast. I never saw him again. I will, however, never forget that beautiful, beautiful, voice. Tim Hardin could sing. He could really, really, sing! Okay, as to the corrections. Your version of the "If I Were A Carpenter"/Bobby Darin story, is not exactly how Tim tells it. He said he was in the studio laying down tracks for the song, when Bobby Darin came in, heard the song, and asked Tim if he minded if he (Darin) recorded it first. Tim said he had planned to use that song as a vehicle to "Pop" success for himself. Darin agreed not to record the song until after Tim had released it first. The tirade you described, was when Tim first heard the song and knew Darin had lied to him, and recorded the song before Tim had a chance to release it. Darin was already a huge star, and Tim knew he could not compete with the hype Bobby Darin's version would get. Years later, Bobby Darin tried to make it up to Tim by giving him the song "Sing A Simple Song Of Freedom" . . . But it was too little, too late. I really enjoyed your site. Tim Hardin was a great friend. He helped me in the music business, and I loved recording with him. I often listen to tracks we made with Michael Bloomfield and Frank Butler, both also died from heroin overdoses. BTW, Tim did start using drugs in Southeast Asia. He also smuggled eight pounds of heroin back to states for his personal use ("Smugglin' Man" . . . "Hidden in the red ballon, is the pinning of my eyes"). His voice . . . God, what a voice . . . What a beautiful, rich, voice! I haven't used drugs in 15 years, but I always laugh a little when I listen to his music . . . and then I cry a little. Thanks for a great site. Take care - Bill Schenley
Hi Brian, I have only recently started to get into Tim Hardin's music and do not have a great deal of his material yet. However, I have a vinyl album which you do not mention in the record listings. It contains live recordings from the 1973 Reading Festival. Tim performs two songs on the album - Hang On To A Dream and Person to Person. I have had this album for many years and, despite being moved enough by this version of Hang On To A Dream to perform it with my own band, it is only very recently that I have decided to listen to more of Tim's music. I should be grateful if you could tell me the best sources of Tim's CDs as none of my local record stores have any! See ya! - Roger P.S. I think your page is brilliant - keep it up!
Hello Brian, Just stumbled across your Tim Hardin site and I would like to congratulate you on a terrific site and thank you for giving this man his due in such thorough fashion. Brilliant. I stumbled across Tim's work a few months after his death when one of his compilation albums found its way into my collection after a trip to a used vinyl store. I was hooked and have remained so. I have always sought out bits of info on Tim's life and times and your great site has provided much information that has been previously unknown to me. Perhaps a year after Tim's death, there was an advertisement in the Rolling Stone classifieds offering the album "Unforgiven" for sale. It was a pricey purchase -- $20 if I recall correctly -- but I went ahead because I knew it was the last original music we'd have from Tim. It contains eight songs, some of which were "completed" with full backing arrangements and others which are sparse, having been recorded on piano in Tim's living room. Let me know if you'd like further info on "Unforgiven." It's a pretty good listen, by the way. - Mike Vogel
Hello, Brian. First my compliments for your excellent home-page. I have got the album "Unforgiven" of Tim Hardin but as a real big fan, I won't sell it. I'm sorry. Best Regards - Hans Breuer.
I don't know why, but Tim Hardin made a deep impression on me those 35 years ago. As a university student in the late 1960s and early 70s in Toronto, I heard him often on the local Folk Music radio show, and I bought one or two of his albums. Then I saw him perform live. I'll never forget that. It was heart-breaking. It haunted me for years - until today, in fact, until I found information about his death on the Internet. He was terribly possessed by drugs during that performance. He seemed to sing only to a candle sitting on the piano in front of him. Heart-breaking, as I say. I was so worried about him, that now and again, for 35 years, I've wondered if he survived, or died of drugs. How sad to learn today that he died in 1980. Anyway, the reason I'm writing to you is simply to suggest that you might consider a place on your Web site for memories of people who remember seeing him perform. Just a thought. At the moment I'm a little overcome learning of his end ...(sender not known)
Found your Tim Hardin site. Can you tell me anything about about Bill Chelf ? Knew him and John Betsch a million years ago in Boston when they both were going to Berklee. Saw him last with Hardin. I moved to California and lost track. Heard about Hardin's death. Thought Bill was likely to go the same way. Did he? Thanks - D. Fowler
Hi I like your site. Do you know where Tim Harden is buried? We would like to visit his grave but can find no mention of the whereabouts anywhere. Thanks a bunch!! - Pat
Brian- enjoyed your Tim Hardin web page. I read it while listening to a Reason To Believe CD.(I'm trying to replace all my old lp's that got sold or stolen back in my scuffling days). Anyway, a short anecdote about him. I saw him at a blues club just outside of Seattle with a friend, back around 1971. The club didn't last long in that venue, although it brought in some great talent. Anyway, that particular evening there weren't many folks in the audience. In fact, I think it was just me and my buddy and the barmaid. He played a few tunes, said fuck this, and sat down with us drinking beer 'til the place closed. I remember how great his wool slacks looked with his cowboy boots. Although I tried, I never could get a pair of slacks to fit me like that. Of course, I've never owned a goddam pair of cowboy boots in my fifty years either! I remember Joe Cocker saying Hardin was the second greatest blues singer ever, Ray charles being first I guess. Take care. - Michael Andersson
Brian: I like most of Tim Hardin's recorded stuff. My favourite album is the Live one...but I do like that later stuff. I'm also a big Dion fan and there's a link between them in their vocals styles, that jazzy scat sort of feeling. I'm from Hamilton Ontario (although now we live in Dundas). See you - David
Brian, I got your message about the ""Unforgiven" album that you now have, and I am puzzled about something. You referred to someone who took the "cover photo". I have an original vinyl LP that I bought when it was first released, and there are NO photos on the cover or the liner. Just ink sketches. So, I wonder what you have. I recently acquired a copy of the "Homecoming" album that appears to be an original pressing on white vinyl. It is pretty interesting to hear. Tim seemed much more outgoing and "spacy" than I remembered when I a saw him shortly after. But he was in the same strong voice. Like you said, he had good days and bad. Regards - Lew
Great site...thank you for reminding me how much I loved Hardin's work....saw him solo...guitar and piano...at the old Rainbow venue in Finsbury Park in London...early seventies supporting the Steve Miller Band...a very beautiful concert...so good I couldn't stay for Steve Miller...had to walk out and breathe the air....stay well - Zane Trow Brisbane, Australia
What about the Homecoming docu footage? Do you know if it stilll exists? - George Gerdes
Brian, I just discovered your page on Tim Hardin and have not yet gone through all of it (I plan to!). I think it is great, and I am glad to see someone recognizing him for the great artist that he was. I saw in my quick perusal a request for information about the "Unforgiven" album. I have a copy. It is a great album, especially within the context of a man who is soon to die. The recordings are "spare" but are all the more touching because of this. For most of the tracks, it is just Tim, his guitar, and the recorder. If you still need detailed info, I can forward the liner info. I saw Tim perfom once in San Francisco about 6 months before he died. He opened for the Persuasions and Joan Baez. Joan stunk! The Persuasions were "good". Tim was incredible. Just a guy on the stage, sitting on a stool, playing his heart out. One of my great concert memories. - Lew Kious
You look like an expert. Can you tell me where I might get hold of a complete lyric sheet to the Suite for Susan Moore album? - Stephen Halper
Hi Brian, great site. I was researching Tim Hardin for a retrospective broadcast on a radio show I do called "in the tradition" (WCUW WORCESTER MASS USA). All the info I needed was at your site. Thanks. I've been a big fan of Tim's since his first album. Here's a tidbit: I attended the (original) Woodstock festival because Tim was in the lineup (also for the Incredible String Band). Tim went onstage at 3:am to an almost hostile crowd he sang one or two songs (solo) and stopped at one point to plead "please listen to me", then fled the stage. This was early Sat. morning during the "folk segment" of the show; the crowd just wanted to boogie. Who knows what poor Timmy had ingested while waiting to go on? p.s.: ISB got a similar reception. the "Woodstock generation" although it wasn't named that yet, was dead for me. Thanks Brian - Bernie Frenete
Brian: Just a note to say I stopped by your web-site today and enjoyed it immensely. I was listening to the Simple Songs of Freedom CD, as I browsed. I have been a fan of Tim Hardin since a friend played me the Live album after its first release. I enjoyed it so much and was so overcome by it that he gave me the record. I still have it. Richie Havens is another of my favourites. I saw Richie play on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson at about the time of the Mixed Bag album and bought up everything I could find. I've been following him ever since. I met him one evening at a concert, and before the show had a chance to chat with him and get an autograph. Have you read his biography yet? It's quite interesting. Anyway, I'm just listening to Martin Carthy's Signs of Life CD and thought I'd say "hello". - David Kidney
I came across your site when I was trying to figure out the value of my copy of Unforgiven. Tim Hardin was a friend of mine and I was around for the recording of it. His friend Pompa did the portrait on the cover and gave me a copy after Tim died. It's a numbered limited ed. #4237. If you want further info, let me know. Tim and I went back to pre-Gerdes times. There's a few pages about him in my new book, Early Plastic: www.home.earthlink.net/~cllrdr - Bill Reed
I greatly appreciated your bio on Hardin. Many years ago he appeared in the Phil Ochs Memorial Concert where he did a very beautiful version of Ochs's "Pleasures of the Harbor." The concert was carried on public television. For years I had wanted to see it again but on the web I found out recently that the tape had been lost. I think the song was the best thing Hardin ever did. - Jomombo
Hi congratulations to your site. I'm a great fan of Tim Hardin and also working in music biz over 30 years. Do you know any details from Tim Hardin in Hamburg or in Germany ? I will a link to your site on my websites. Greetings from Hamburg - Peter
Info about Unforgiven: Songs - 1. Unforgiven 2. Luna Cariba 3. Mercy Wind 4. If I Were Still With You 5. Judge and Jury 6. Partly Yours 7. Sweet Feeling 8. Secret - All songs by Tim Hardin, recorded in 1980, Produced by Don Rubin. Released by San Francisco Sound in 1981 and, as I believe, only available through mail order. Rec. no. SFS24810. Best wishes - Niklas Gustafsson
Brian, What about that "Homecoming" documentary? Have you followed up on that work's status? Here's one remembrance: Tim playing at The Bitter End in Greenwich Village; midway through his set he very precariously balances his guitar on its bottom peg vertically up so it's standing up by itself with no brace or support. He regards it for a few moments, extends both hands out to it like a mime, then says, "Suspense...the key to the act is: Suspense!" He then played "Hang on to a Dream" & a few others on electric keyboard, then returned and picked up his seemingly hypnotized guitar to finish his set with. Magicians will remind us All the magic's still done at home. - George Gerdes
Many thanks for your reply -- hope all's well -- I remain curious -- do you have any idea what those angels are singing behind Tim on the fade-out of "Bird On The Wire"? - D.G. Whiteis
Enjoyed your tributes to Tim. I'm an actor/singer-songwriter myself and Tim was always a wayward big brother and mentor of gentility & power in song for me. We did get to spend some time together and one of my most satisfying moments was handing him a copy of my first lp on United Artists Records, curiously enough entitled "Obituary". I do have a copy of his posthumous "Unforgiven" album. My "Suite for Susan Moore and Damien" is pretty well worn beyond listenability and I suggest we harangue Columbia Legacy for a re-issue. I am wondering if you've had any contact or information concerning the documentary that was being produced in conjunction with the "Homecoming" concert. In my slipping sort of step - George Gerdes
Can you tell me the title of a Tim Hardin song, whose lyric talks about the break up his marriage to Susan, and she going off with her new friend, taking Damion with her to the coast? I think part of the lyric says. "we made Damion" . Sorry, not much to go on, but it's great song and I'd like to add it to my collection. - JW
Looked at your Tim Hardin page. I'm a big fan too, but you forgot to mention the Unforgiven album. - jd
Brian I have the following records by Tim Hardin (not mentioned in your discography) - "This Is Tim Hardin" (LP EDSEL ED 309),UK'89 ; "This Is Tim Hardin" (CD Atlantic 7567-80780-2),Germany '98 (the same songs as the LP) ; "Tim Hardin 1" (CD Line LMCD 9.51113 Z), Germany'91 ; "Tim Hardin 2" (CD Line LMCD 9.51069 Z), Germany'91 ; "Tim Hardin 4" (CD Line LMCD 9.51091 Z), Germany'91 ; "Bird On A Wire" (CD Columbia CK 30551),USA' ? ; "Nine" (CD Marquee Records MQCCD 003), UK'90 ; "Suite For Susan Moore And Damion-We Are-One,One,All In One" (LP Columbia CS 9787), USA'jm'70 ; "The Shock Of Grace" (LP Columbia PC 37164), USA'81(it's a compilation) ; "Painted Head" (LP Columbia KC 31764), USA'72 ; "Unforgiven" (LP San Francisco Sound SFS 10810), USA'80; Finally, BGO Records in the UK are advertising the release of both "Suite For Susan Moore And Damion ..." and "Bird On A Wire" on a single CD (BGOCD 470), but I'm not sure if it's out yet. There are more 2 compilations LP's,but I don't have them : "Archetypes"(MGM 4952), USA'73 ; "Memorial Album" (Polydor PD 16333),USA'82. Best regards from Portugal and a Happy New Year ! - Antonio Alfaiate
Hi Brian, I wanted to write and tell you how much I enjoyed your tribute to Tim Hardin. It's nice to see that nineteen years after his death, there are still those who haven't forgotten this gifted and wonderful talent balladaire. I was living in the San Fernando Valley (Burbank) when he died, and kept the obits and tributes from the L.A. Times and other Los Angeles papers. If you'd like, send me your address and I'll send you copies. The Times had a real tribute to him. For years I've tried to find out where Tim was buried. According to his death certificate, his ashes were returned to residence. I'm sure they either shipped to his parents or tossed out to sea. I now live in Portland, Oregon, and have, at times, considered looking up his parents in the phone book and calling them. But, I never have and never will. Though, I did look up Jimi Hendrix's dad in Seattle, and yes, he's listed, and I understand that he welcomes callers, and if you make an appointment, you can go to his house where he has a museum to his son. No, I haven't done that, either. Do you have any idea where Tim's ashes ended up? Please write if you get a chance. I look foreward to hearing from you. - Bob Siler
Your website brings back many (bitter)sweet memories -- the info on the distance between Tim & the musicians/arranger on BIRD ON A WIRE only confirms what I always sensed. Although some of the tracks (the ones you mention plus the title track except for that angelic choir on the fade-out --& by the way, what words are they singing?!?) have arrangements that are appropriate to the material, others are too awash in strings for my liking. Might I add to your list of favorite tracks: "Bird On The Wire" -- despite his rather thin timbre on the opening verse, Tim makes his strongest case for the Ray Charles claim on this number, in my opinion -- & his alternation of Cohen's verse from "like the worm on a hook" to "like a MAN on the hook" reveals all-too-starkly his own assessment of his condition at that particular point in his life -- "A Satisfied Mind" (despite those Wagnerian strings toward the end) -- Tim didn't have that, of course, but then neither did Hank Williams; as Tim sang on yet another song that could have been a candidate for this list, "Hank Williams, my friend... I didn't know you, but I've seen places you've been..." [I'm quoting this from memory, so please forgive any words that are missed or out-of-place] "Black Sheep Boy" -- definitely, in my opinion, has to be a "fave" track. It's as autobiographical as anything he ever did --the outlaw image, and also hints at some of the flaws (ego, self-pity) that darkened his light & contributed to his problems... a lovely, brooding masterpiece that probably reveals even more than Tim ever intended. The only time I ever saw Tim "live" was in Vermont in the early 70s; he did two good sets --the first one acoustic, the second one electric folk-rock blues-- then returned to do "Love Hymn". He was pretty well-behaved that night, although he did make a couple of bitchy comments to someone in the audience, & some of his physical antics during the "blues" set bordered on self-parody. What can you tell us about that appearance he made, not too long before he died, as part of a televised tribute to Phil Ochs, on which he sang a lovely "Pleasures Of The Harbor" with a jazz back-up that sounded quite a bit like some of the playing on "Bird On A Wire"? I remember that he looked really clean, scrubbed-up, & fresh-faced -- either he was still in his "good" period, or he'd freshened up considerably for the occasion -- All the best - David Whiteis
Dear Brian, We are very pleased to find out there finally is a homepage devoted to Tim Hardin and his music. Unfortunately it is hard to find information about him, also on the internet. We read your page concerning TH and found it very interesting, there was a lot of information we didn't know already. What do you want to know about the album Unforgiven? We have a copy of it, we bought it about ten years ago in a recordstore in our hometown Amsterdam. If you want any information about it please contact us. Could you tell us what happened to his son Damion. Hopefully he didn't go the same way Tim Buck ley's son did. Greetings and lots of succes with your homepage(s) - Elsbeth van Orsouw, Andre Nuchelmans
I will include a link to your page on my homepage. The answers to a few questions that have arisen on a Tim Hardin discussion board are held in your web pages. Would you be willing to let me do a link from the discussion board to your site? I also heard the version of "How can we hang on to a dream" on the John Peel show and I taped it (but my brother erased it!!). Excellent Site. I look forward to hearing from you.- Alan.
Surfed onto your website. Thanks for the info on Tim Hardin. I saw Tim Hardin play in Boston at a club, where I worked, called the "Unicorn". I recall him causing a real buzz in the then Boston folk music scene. I think (I was only 16 & my memory doesn't serve me all that well). I think he lived with a women on Mt. Auburn St. in Cambridge. I recall going to a party with him. He was an outgoing person. Bigger than life. He did seem like he was on some type of drugs, but I not so sure about that. I think I have one of his albums. I'm not sure which one. Feel free to contact me. Sincerely - Tony
Just a note to let you know that I greatly appreciate the Tim Hardin site you put together. Thanks. - Pat McBride
Brian, I am presently trying to find an answer to a question in a quiz and it concerns Tim Hardin. Do you know if the song "Reason To Believe" which is on Marianne Faithful's "Love in a Mist" album (Decca - 1966) is indeed Tim Hardin's song? I ran across your very nice website during my research. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you. Sincerely - John Smith
Hi, Came upon your great web site. I have a recording of "Simple Song of Freedom". However, the copy is beaten up. Can you tell me how I can get an MP3 file of the stereo version of that song? Thanks in advance. - Harry
enjoyed your tim hardin page ... was thinking it'd be good to list some other artists who have covered tim's songs ... the great part about it is they range pretty far and wide from the byrds to the sandpipers, from lee dorse y to wilson phillips ... here's a list to start with: Baez, Joan Beat Farmers Blunstone, Colin Boatwright, Ginger Byrds Campbell, Glen Carpenters Chapman, Roger Dalton, Karen Darin, Bobby Dillards Dorsey, Lee Elliott, Ramblin' Jack Emerson & Waldron Emerson, Lake & Palmer Everly Brothers Fleetwood Mac Frampton, Peter Gandalf Garrett, Leif Gilberto, Astrud Grey, Joel Hawkins, Ronnie Hutton, Danny Ian & Sylvia Jayhawks Keane, Peter Lorber, Alan Matthews, Iain McCutcheon, John Morgan, Lee Nelson, Rick Nice Nico Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Peter, Paul & Mary Plant, Robert Rivers, Johnny Rose, Tim Russell, Leon Sandpipers Scruggs, Gary and Randy Seger, Bob Small Faces Southern Fried Spectrum Rod Stewart Staines, Bill Stewart, Rod Three Dog Night Timms, Sally Walker, Scott Weller, Paul White Mountain Singers Williams, Don Williams, Mason Wilson Phillips cheers - Chris Hollow
Many thanks for sending the chords for 'It'll never happen' and 'Hang on to a dream', especially after you lost all your data and had to start again! I've found it impossible to find any of his music, which is a surprise as Western Australia, where I live, is about 20 years behind the times so they should just have started listening to him! thanks - Barbara Dear
Mister Mathieson, I am looking for the lyrics of "If I were a Carpenter" by Tim Hardin. I wasn't able to find them in the net could You be so kind and send them to my privat e-mail adress? Thanks - Thomas Guglielmetti
I have never heard of this record before, but now I have to find it. I have to hear Tim Hardin sing Bird On A Wire. Is this a particularly rare recording? Any information about tracking it down would be much appreciated. The web page is great, thanks for maintaining it. Sincerely - Noel Paladin-Tripp
Wow. These are fine examples of talents most have passed by. I run into so few people who've heard Tim Hardin and I don't think I've ever encountered anyone who knows the name David Ackles. I bought his "American Gothic" in the '70s and loved it. I didn't notice the briefly available "Unforgiven" album on your Tim Hardin list. It was made up of demos he made just before he died. The title track was eventually covered by Joe Cocker. It's a mixed bag, but has a few truly excellent tracks that proved he could still write. Also, you might check out David Forman (as a nominee) who has had only one officially released album (self-titled on Arista Records, circa 1978, but resurfaced recently on an absolutely wonderful album called "Largo" (Blue Gorilla/Mercury Records). He's making a living in a pretty cool '50s/'60s revival band called Little Isidore and the Inquisitors. Keep up the good work. - Wayne Bledsoe
I saw Tim in a concert in 1973 in Narhria (Israel) Maybe we can share information. And I would like also information about a fanclub. I have no E mail adress but you can replay to my postadress - Chris Broks Breda TheNetherlands.
I went to High School with Damion Hardin, and met his mother Susan, a couple of times. Damion and I ended up being roomates for about 6 months during the summer of 1987. I haven't seen him since 1995, when we both attended the funeral of a very good friend of ours. I don't have any insight into Tim Hardin, except that I knew, and subsequently became the roomate, of his son Damion. If for whatever reason I can add anything to your site, I would be glad to do so. Just let me know. - Joshua Richmond
Hi, I had gotten one e-mail from you..then my computer crashed. Had to wait for a new modem and finally the company had to replace my computer. Needless to say, I lost you in all the shuffling. Can you contact me again about Adrian Guillery and Tim Hardin? I never did learn what the original Tim Hardin albums might be worth in US$. I have the original Jeremy and The Satyrs as well. Looking forward to your reply. - Shelley Davis
Thanks for your website. Do you know where I can find the lyrics/chords for Hang on to a dream and It will never happen? Thanks - Barbara
I started an e-mail list for fans of Tim Hardin and also Fred Niel and Leonard Cohen. I would love it if you could link to it. Its at mailto:Bird-on-a-wire@Onelist.com Thanks - Jessica
Hi. We have spoken before, although I think in my past messages I concentrated more on David Ackles. This time, I wanted to comment on your Tim Hardin pages, which I really like. I frankly am in awe of this man ... this ... how do I say it without sounding cliched? ... legend. Mr. Hardin was usually pigeonholed as a folk singer, but for the most part, he, like another tormented genius, Miss Janis Joplin (not "Pearl", please), was totally apolitical. His works display an amazing awareness of a plethora of musical styles, which he combined with his own (often very unhappy) existence to create an entirely new sort of listening experience ... the Vinyl Confessional, if you will. However, I think that my favourite thing about him was, um ... how do I put this? ... the decidedly expository nature of the stories of his life with which he regaled so many people. What was fact? What was fiction? Who can say? And frankly, isn't it better that way? I know that I've integrated fictional elements into my own biography at various times, whether accidentally or deliberately. Over time, these anecdotes have seamelssly woven themselves into my being to such an extent that I sometimes have trouble remembering whether certain things really happened! Next year, we should have some sort of celebration to mark the 20th anniversary of Mr. Hardin's passing. What do you think? I also wanted to make a few comments on your Tim Hardin Discography. You don't seem to have a year listed for the "Nine" album ... it was originally released in 1973, on Antilles Records. I know this because I have in my possession an Antilles sampler dating back from this time, which contains Never Too Far (the version where he is backed by Peter Frampton), as well as chestnuts from other musicians (like Northern Sky from Nick Drake (another greatly missed talent), Pull Down Lads from the wonderful June Tabor, and Shirley Collins [backed by the Albion Country Band]'s rendition of Just As the Tide Was A-Flowing). Also, you state that The Homecoming Concert was first released in 1987 on Line Records. Actually, it originally came out in 1981 on the now-defunct Kamera Records, a label which is more famous for releasing works by The Fall, of all people. Maxim Jakubowski's 1981 Rock Yearbook, which I have had for many years, reviews the album quite favorably, stating that although much of it is rambling and haphazard, Mr. Hardin's essence still manages to shine through. And, unless I just missed it, you don't seem to mention Mr. Hardin's final album, Unforgiven (1981) at all. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to hear this one, but you can find out more about it at www.warriorrecords.com/Artists/SFS-24810.html Finally ... do you know what Susan Moore is doing these days? I have always wondered about that. Although they had some pretty rough times, he did treat her like a queen ... as much as he was able to, anyway. Is she still acting? }{ \par }{\fs20 (Incidentally, I think that Mr. Hardin's recollection of her as having been on The Young Marrieds is yet another one of his tall tales, because, although there were indeed two actresses named Susan on the show, neither had a last name of Moore, Morss, Yardley, Hardin or anything similar. One was the soap actress Susan Seaforth Hayes, who was DEFINITELY never married to Mr. Hardin, and the other was an actress named S usan Brown, who I don't think is Ms. Moore either). It's hard to believe that Damion Hardin is over 30 now. Perhaps he'll take a cue from poor Jeff Buckley and start singing, too. (Actually, these two musical progeny are amazingly similar in many ways ... they came from broken homes, they barely ever saw their gifted but uninvolved fathers, etc.). Mark Tunnell