For Release: May 9, 2002
Grammy Award-winning performer and songwriter John Hartford was a fixture on the American music scene for 40 years, from his 1960s spots on the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour to his appearance on the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack. Hartford played a variety of stringed instruments and was also an author and riverboat captain. This episode of Jubilee offers music lovers a chance to appreciate the late musician's talents once again.Hartford, who has at least 20 albums to his credit, penned the classic "Gentle on my Mind" and appeared regularly on Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and later on Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour. Among his most notable albums were his 1980 rock & roll-meets-bluegrass reunion with the Dillards, Permanent Wave, and Shel Silverstein's The Great Conch Train Robbery.
Hartford began performing with his son Jamie in the late 1980s and also became involved with Opryland, where he helped launch an old-fashioned steamboat ride. On June 4, 2001, Hartford lost a long battle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma when he died in a Nashville hospital at the age of 63.
Jubilee is a KET production, produced and directed by H. Russell Farmer. The program is closed-captioned for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. Viewers can find out more about programming on KET by visiting the KET Web site at http://www.ket.org.