"
John Hardy" is a traditional
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
folk songThe term folk music originated in the 19th century as a term for musical folklore. It has been defined in several ways; as music transmitted by word of mouth, music of the lower classes, music with no known composer...
based on the life of a railroad worker in
West VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland to the northeast...
. The historical John Hardy killed a man during a
crapsCraps is a dice game in which players place wagers on the outcome of the roll or a series of rolls of two dice. Players may wager money against each other or a bank . Because it requires very little equipment, street craps can easily be played in informal settings.-History:Craps developed from a...
game, was found guilty of murder in the first degree, and was hanged on January 19, 1894. The song has been performed by
Roscoe HolcombRoscoe Holcomb, was an American singer, banjo player, and guitarist from Daisy, Kentucky. A prominent figure in Appalachian folk music, Holcomb was the inspiration for the term "high, lonesome sound," coined by folklorist and friend John Cohen...
,
LeadbellyHuddie William Ledbetter was an American folk musician, notable for his strong vocals, his virtuosity on the 12-string guitar, and the songbook of folk standards he introduced....
(Huddie William Ledbetter), the
Carter FamilyThe Carter Family was a country music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, southern gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. They were the first vocal group to become country music stars...
,
Tommy JarrellTommy Jarrell was an American fiddler, banjo player, and singer from the Mount Airy region of North Carolina's Appalachian Mountains.-Biography:...
,
the Kingston TrioThe Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to late 1960s. The group originated as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds...
(who called it "Getaway John"),
Bob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet and painter who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was, at first, an informal chronicler and then an apparently reluctant figurehead of social unrest...
, Silver Apples,
Uncle TupeloUncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville...
, The Gun Club,
George ThorogoodGeorge Thorogood is a blues rock performer from Wilmington, Delaware, known for his hit song "Bad to the Bone" as well as for covers of blues standards such as Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" and John Lee Hooker's "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer"...
,
Pete SeegerPeter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and a key figure in the mid-20th century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early '50s as a member of The Weavers, most notably the 1950 recording of Leadbelly's...
,
Woody GuthrieWoodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
(who called the song "John Harty"),
Jerry ReedJerry Reed Hubbard , known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country music singer, country guitarist, session musician, songwriter, and actor who appeared in over a dozen films. As a singer, he may be best known for " The Line in Gasoline"; "Lord, Mr...
,
Tony RiceTony Rice is an acoustic guitarist and bluegrass musician.Rice spans the range of acoustic music, from traditional bluegrass to jazz-influenced "Spacegrass" music, to songwriter-oriented folk. Over the course of his career, he has played alongside J. D...
,
Bill FrisellWilliam Richard "Bill" Frisell is an American guitarist and composer.One of the leading guitarists in jazz since the late '80s Frisell's eclectic music touches on progressive folk, classical music, country music, noise and more...
(both as a solo artist and with
Petra HadenPetra Haden is an American violinist and singer. She is or has been a member of several bands, including That Dog, Tito & Tarantula, The Rentals and The Decemberists; has contributed to recordings by The Twilight Singers, Beck, Mike Watt, Luscious Jackson, Jimmy Eat World, Foo Fighters, Green Day,...
),
Chris SmitherChris Smither is an American folk/blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His music draws deeply from the blues, American folk music, modern poets and philosophers.-Early life, influences and education:...
,
Martin SimpsonMartin Simpson is an English guitarist. He grew up in a household full of music, from his mother’s Paul Robeson records, his father’s light opera singing and the record collections of his two elder brothers...
,
Buell KazeeBuell Kazee was an American country and folk singer. He is considered one of the most successful folk musicians of the 1920s and experienced a career comeback during the American folk music revival of the 1960s due in part to his inclusion on the Anthology of American Folk Music.- Early life...
,
Burl IvesBurl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an American actor, writer and folk music singer.As an actor, Ives's work included comedies, dramas and voice work in theater, television and motion pictures. A prolific recording artist, the prominent music critic John Rockwell has been quoted in the New York Times as...
, banjo player
Dock BoggsMoran Lee "Dock" Boggs was an influential old-time singer, songwriter and banjo player. His style of banjo playing, as well as his singing, is considered a unique combination of Appalachian folk music and African-American blues...
, and Austin Singer/Songwriter
Michael FracassoMichael Fracasso is a singer-songwriter based in Austin, Texas. His music spans country and rock as he sings in a high tenor that evokes the "high lonesome" sound of early country....
among others.
The first known recording is by Eva Davis on Columbia Records in 1924.
"
John Hardy" is a traditional
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
folk songThe term folk music originated in the 19th century as a term for musical folklore. It has been defined in several ways; as music transmitted by word of mouth, music of the lower classes, music with no known composer...
based on the life of a railroad worker in
West VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland to the northeast...
. The historical John Hardy killed a man during a
crapsCraps is a dice game in which players place wagers on the outcome of the roll or a series of rolls of two dice. Players may wager money against each other or a bank . Because it requires very little equipment, street craps can easily be played in informal settings.-History:Craps developed from a...
game, was found guilty of murder in the first degree, and was hanged on January 19, 1894. The song has been performed by
Roscoe HolcombRoscoe Holcomb, was an American singer, banjo player, and guitarist from Daisy, Kentucky. A prominent figure in Appalachian folk music, Holcomb was the inspiration for the term "high, lonesome sound," coined by folklorist and friend John Cohen...
,
LeadbellyHuddie William Ledbetter was an American folk musician, notable for his strong vocals, his virtuosity on the 12-string guitar, and the songbook of folk standards he introduced....
(Huddie William Ledbetter), the
Carter FamilyThe Carter Family was a country music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, southern gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. They were the first vocal group to become country music stars...
,
Tommy JarrellTommy Jarrell was an American fiddler, banjo player, and singer from the Mount Airy region of North Carolina's Appalachian Mountains.-Biography:...
,
the Kingston TrioThe Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to late 1960s. The group originated as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds...
(who called it "Getaway John"),
Bob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet and painter who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was, at first, an informal chronicler and then an apparently reluctant figurehead of social unrest...
, Silver Apples,
Uncle TupeloUncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville...
, The Gun Club,
George ThorogoodGeorge Thorogood is a blues rock performer from Wilmington, Delaware, known for his hit song "Bad to the Bone" as well as for covers of blues standards such as Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" and John Lee Hooker's "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer"...
,
Pete SeegerPeter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and a key figure in the mid-20th century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early '50s as a member of The Weavers, most notably the 1950 recording of Leadbelly's...
,
Woody GuthrieWoodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
(who called the song "John Harty"),
Jerry ReedJerry Reed Hubbard , known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country music singer, country guitarist, session musician, songwriter, and actor who appeared in over a dozen films. As a singer, he may be best known for " The Line in Gasoline"; "Lord, Mr...
,
Tony RiceTony Rice is an acoustic guitarist and bluegrass musician.Rice spans the range of acoustic music, from traditional bluegrass to jazz-influenced "Spacegrass" music, to songwriter-oriented folk. Over the course of his career, he has played alongside J. D...
,
Bill FrisellWilliam Richard "Bill" Frisell is an American guitarist and composer.One of the leading guitarists in jazz since the late '80s Frisell's eclectic music touches on progressive folk, classical music, country music, noise and more...
(both as a solo artist and with
Petra HadenPetra Haden is an American violinist and singer. She is or has been a member of several bands, including That Dog, Tito & Tarantula, The Rentals and The Decemberists; has contributed to recordings by The Twilight Singers, Beck, Mike Watt, Luscious Jackson, Jimmy Eat World, Foo Fighters, Green Day,...
),
Chris SmitherChris Smither is an American folk/blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His music draws deeply from the blues, American folk music, modern poets and philosophers.-Early life, influences and education:...
,
Martin SimpsonMartin Simpson is an English guitarist. He grew up in a household full of music, from his mother’s Paul Robeson records, his father’s light opera singing and the record collections of his two elder brothers...
,
Buell KazeeBuell Kazee was an American country and folk singer. He is considered one of the most successful folk musicians of the 1920s and experienced a career comeback during the American folk music revival of the 1960s due in part to his inclusion on the Anthology of American Folk Music.- Early life...
,
Burl IvesBurl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an American actor, writer and folk music singer.As an actor, Ives's work included comedies, dramas and voice work in theater, television and motion pictures. A prolific recording artist, the prominent music critic John Rockwell has been quoted in the New York Times as...
, banjo player
Dock BoggsMoran Lee "Dock" Boggs was an influential old-time singer, songwriter and banjo player. His style of banjo playing, as well as his singing, is considered a unique combination of Appalachian folk music and African-American blues...
, and Austin Singer/Songwriter
Michael FracassoMichael Fracasso is a singer-songwriter based in Austin, Texas. His music spans country and rock as he sings in a high tenor that evokes the "high lonesome" sound of early country....
among others.
The first known recording is by Eva Davis on Columbia Records in 1924. As with other folk songs, lyrics change from version to version.
Early folk historians confused the ballads of John Hardy and
John Henry-People:* John Henry , the "steel-driving man", American folk hero* John Henry, Margrave of Moravia * John Henry , U.S. Senator from and Governor of Maryland...
. This lead to a mixing of stories related to the outlaw and the steel driver. Investigation into the John Henry myth helped separate these figures.
External links