John Hartford's Funeral -Tim O'Brien 

I shared a bill once with John Hartford at a show in Virginia in 1990. We ate a Barbecue meal together and hung out before and after the show. He was a total trip to put it mildly, he was as interesting a conversationalist as he was a performer. He signed autographs with two pens, two hands starting in the center and writing a mirror image in opposite directions as he signed his name. His energy was absolutely inspiring. He was a real credit to his craft.

John is a true American treasure , i can never hear enough stories about him.Thanks Otis and Tim .

I remember seeing John Hartford in a Grocery Store west of St louis during my lunch break. I was covered in dried up mud on my jeans. He said Hi, I was in shock to see him, and he said you been working ,huh ? And smiled.

Years ago, I was on a business trip to Nashville and took the opportunity to visit Gruhn Guitars to gawk at their incredible wares. Like any self respecting music store, there were a couple of dudes hanging out jamming. On this occasion the two were on banjo and acoustic guitar and were incredible musicians, like pretty much anyone you run into in that city. After a while the older fellow on the banjo stood up and put up the instrument, and in an almost namaste-like bow, he clasped his hands together and said good bye and left. As soon as the door closed behind him it dawned on me and I said “Was that who I think it was?” “Yeah,” the proprietor said. “John comes in every now and then and just hangs out.” It is not often you get to be in close presence with what I would consider Music Royalty.

So good. Tim is a new favorite! What a cool cat!

Check out Tim's new record and tell him Otis sent ya! timobrien.net/

Tim, you are a treasure, like John was. Thank you for this remembrance.

Loved Tim's comment about singing "Gentle on my Mind" at John's funeral: "Singing that song it felt like I was passing into the atmosphere in a way. Like this consciousness or something, like you're a tool of this greater thing and happy to be so." Amazing how little wooden boxes with stings and the human voice can transcend the ordinary into the extraordinary. Thanks for the memories guys.

My wife was at John's funeral. She worked with him on the Julia Belle Swain. I was home babysitting. I should have gone . . so many memorable stories! Thanks for posting, Otis.

I loved his style is writing of course his banjo playing fiddle playing , gentle on My Mind it doesn’t matter how many times I hear this song and who sings it or the arrangement it always sounds like the first time it is just so good to me.

Love this guy , another great person that knew everyone keeping the history of these great artist alive. OTIS you hit it out of the park again.

Thank you Tim and Otis for passing on these great stories. John Hartford was a great talent that many got to know from his appearances on the Glen Campbell Good time Hour

Great stories, it just fascinates me and warms my heart to see my favorite ever musician talk about my other favorite ever musician. I don't know too much about either man personally, but what I know I like and I just adore their music and have for many years. Thanks for this.

RIP 😢 thank you for sharing your moments with us hope you and everyone here are doing well through the most unbelievable time in our life

Priceless stories!

This is one of my fav channels on RU-vid. Great stories man. I'd LOVE more John Hartford tales!

Really enjoy these story telling sessions.

What a wonderful story. Thank you Tim and Otis for the chance to hear it. I'm sure John Hartford truly loved and appreciated you guys !

What a lovely memory.

Great interviews with Tim O'Brien. So talented and humble. I love these stories, Otis keep em coming!

John and Tim have always been favorites of mine. I love the fact that they seem like guys you could just talk to you on the street corner.

Well, these just keep getting better. Otis Gibbs interviewing Tim O'Brien about John Hartford - no words to describe how good that is!

Thank you Otis and Tim

Thanks for preserving these stories Otis. I especially love the ones with these Bliegrass guys like Tim and Mike Bub.

Man, what a great interview. I could replay from 14:44 till the cows come home. Never knew the depth of Tim O'Brien; musician, incredibly talented in so many ways, not just in the music industry. He's learned things about the human condition that are worth hearing.

Man. One great, unmatched interview.

Great video. Tim O’Brien is great. Have met him and Kevin Burke here in Portland with an old (now passed) friend Al O’Donnel who was a tremendous Irish folk singer. Really great guy and really great set of stories. Loved this. Some things are just bigger than us. How true!! Happy to be so indeed!! Thanks Otis.

Wonderful stories! John had an amazing life and some amazing friends! Sure wish I could have met him! Tim is a great storyteller as well as a awesome musician.

I like John Hartford very much. I remember seeing him many years ago when I was younger on I guess the Glenn Campbell show. Then he was amazing on the Down From The Mountain video. He talked about being a Mississippi riverboat pilot. There was a lot he wanted to accomplish in that respect and he seemed to know a lot about how to pilot those big boats. Always a very interesting person.

When I was a kid in the seventies my dad had a John Hartford album and it had these songs that were covered by other people. Seemed weird to me at the time, It was confusing to me. I liked bluegrass music, just wasn't fully immersed into it. Many years later I rediscovered him and really liked his music when O' Brother where art thou came out. That's around the same time I discovered Tim O'Brien because of the movie Cold Mountain. Thanks for sharing. I moved to Kansas in '97 and we attend the Walnut Valley Festival as often as we can.

Great stories on this one. Thank you Otis. Years ago (many years) I assumed that Gentle on my Mind would be a hard one to cover and then one night the chord structure became obvious and now it’s a tune I love to play but nearly never can recall all the verses. As far as pot brownies go, been there, done that, bought the book and the t shirt but never threw up. Lived in a two story house and couldn’t climb the stairs for some reason that night. Know your limits I think is the lesson here . These sessions with Tim are among the best.

He did so much to resurrect the original American music from the pre Civil War era. "Lorena" is a great example, as was his Mississippi River Pilot's License. From his derby to his feet he was a musical treasure. I wept when he passed in June of 2001. We will not see the like of him again. ❤

I absolutely loved this!! Terrific. I love Cup of Sugar, Tim. And I love all of your podcast, Otis. I want to recommend Tim's song, too on Cup of Sugar. They are all great, but "Goodbye Old Friend" is a wonderful message for me right now, as I also just lost a personal music friend. JD Hutchison and Tim I have heard were great friends, and this song is so beautiful. Thanks for that, Tim. Your set at Telluride (which I streamed from Bozeman) was also great!

That was a nice posting folks , thank you for this it made my evening ..!!!!

❤ Nice tribute. Wow, wonderful stories from Tim O'Brien! Such a good storyteller and such great stories. Thank you, Tim and Otis! I really liked learning about Arnold Schultz in “John Prime Thought Bill Monroe Was In the Mafia” and Jethro Burns and Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers in “Steve Goodman Remembered”. Also, "Working For Mark Knopfler" - all segments!

Another great story

Excellent interview, really very interesting.

This may be the best one yet. The standing ovation part made me fucking cry

Thank you Tim, for a fine story of one of my musical heroes. Music is so fundamental in our lives and storied musicians so important. Who knew that after John was gone we’d find out he wrote over four thousand fiddle tunes! I’ve learned a few, but what a daunting task. And I’m only talking about playing them. He wrote them! All while touring and piloting. I stand amazed.

These visit with Tim are beyond precious. Thanks to the both of you for making this available.

Thanks so much for this one, Otis.

Thank you for this guys ...the Aereoplane album is one of my all time favorites ...he was amazing ! Great stories please tell us more !! 🎻🎶

Wow. heavy duty stuff here. Thanks so much for this.

Awesome!!

tim obien is one of my favorites, in the old days we would see doc watson vassar clements hot rize new grass revival, john hartford and the other old greats

In about 1977 we were invited by our bank in Athens, TN to take a riverboat cruise and the captain on that riverboat was John Hartford.

Just awesome stories. John Hartford was a special guy. As someone already said, there will never be another like him. Thanks, Tim for telling it and thanks Otis for sharing it.

Terrific

thanks otis. thanks tim.

Great story… it’s tough to lose people and say goodbye… I’ve done my share this past few months… never easy… Happy 4th of July… America 🇺🇸 ⚾️🌭🍔🥧🍨🍻🎇🎉… be safe and well… Peace

Thanks again for all these insights, I grew up listening and loving all these musicians and hearing these stories take me back to those years the good and the bad ❤️🎶🎶🎶🎶

I really enjoyed this video thanks so much!

“Cauldron.” ❤😢❤

The word that Tim was looking for is "cauldron."

moonshine country ham bisucits great stories amazing musicians loving artists....sign us up yall

Great great interview, thank you both! I like Aereo-Plain. I don’t recall seeing him play at Bean Blossom back in the day but I did enjoy the John Hartford memorial festivals while they lasted.

I was at John's funeral and I must say to this day no-one except John has ever done a greater version of Gentle On My Mind than Tim! What a bittersweet day that was.

I found the version of Kathy Mattea and Tim singing this song at the tribute concert on RU-vid

"And happy to be so." . Yes sir.

When I first started playing guitar my dad told me to learn some John Prine, I must have got confused when I was looking him up and found John Hartford instead. When I played him some Hartford songs he reminded me that he asked me to learn Prine but that Hartford was a favorite too. I absolutely love all things Hartford, thanks for the stories Tim.

Ways to support this channel. www.patreon.com/otisgibbs ru-vid.com/show-UCYX2MTovE0vYjD8touqRH7Qjoin Tip jar for anyone who wants to help support this channel. paypal.me/otisgibbs?locale.x=... www.venmo.com/OtisGibbs Paypal: @otisgibbs Venmo: @OtisGibbs

Saw John with fiddle and plywood in the late 80s, and was at the Old Settlers Festival in 2001. Have those “hippie” albums, Aereoplain to All In The Name of Love. Still listen.

Well, first off, thank you for the interview and the stories. Apparently, there's a gap in my musical education and I need to remedy that by listening to some John Hartford. Happy Monday Be good to you 🙏🏻🤍💛

I found my Dad's Aeroplane record in the early 80s and something about the weird cover and vibe stuck with me forever. Became a life long fan. I also was at that show in TX and it was heavy but amazing. It circulates around and is worth checking out

I never got to see John live, but I have seen Tim live, the last Hartford Memorial held at Bean Blossom he was lecturing the crowd about not drinking enough water and smoking too much weed haha

You could expect to have alotta fun and entertainment from John solo or with friends he never failed...Ive collected all his albums and with the internet live shows I didn't get to see..busy raising kids and pickin' cotton but we may have mourned his passing his spirit lives in his music so he hasn't gone to far....electric plyboard and all..we'll be dancin' in the bathtub....

Just as a fan, he had talent, presence, and seemed like a very decent human being. Unlike many in the public eye, information only positive reinforces thoughts about him.

Somebody in our family bought the _Mark Twang_ album because it had his name on it. It's certainly worth a listen.

Tears

About three months ago, I saw Tim at an intimate little show in Elkin, NC at the Reeves. I had just bought a new Case Sodbuster (I collect Case) and he played his song Sodbuster at the end and I thought it was a sign lol. He was at his table after and I was able to give it to him. Pretty cool… he was super appreciative. I told him I was a nerd about those things and it was no longer my knife.

❤❤❤

Is that the bus from the Red Knuckles album?

i just can't imagine what a funeral that was w/homemade likker & weed! 🤣🤣🤣🤣too cool!

nice .

He's got a jam with Bela Fleck tomorrow😅

Favorite hartford song is When the guiding star came to tell city

Everybody loves brownies😊

What's your favorite John Hartford song? Did you ever see him live?

......cauldron....

Obrien for Speaker of House.

Tim O. is a Saint btw.

well yeah throw it up and feel better after i could a advised that tho i am a slight expert if were going off past experience with fun substances that should be taken treated with respect..... buy the ticket take the ride....

Printers Alley 1966 Nashville an unheard of John Hartford on stage with Glasser Bros and I’m there watching show and sayin who are these guys. I did meet Chuck & Jimmy Glasser at their publishing building on music row trying to get my songs published.This is all before they published Gentle On My Mind

I want you to guess what time it is right now as I'm listening to the pot brownie story....

👍

oh better try some of this first....words to live by....in certain areas....lol

Lyric he was searching for …. Jim Stafford, Swamp Witch. Maybe?

I’m sure you did when it mattered

gurlgin', cracklin' cauldron...

Pat Paulson for President

mmmm moonshine hartford bluegrass comedy silly hillybillies moonshine glen cmapbell goodtimes ! steve martin and john hartford were wrtiers for the smothers brothers....moew miaus

gurgling, crackling, cauldron at some train yard

I see many share stories but whats your stories? U seemed to duck all the rowdy times.