Moondog

This article is about the American-born avant-garde composer. For other uses, see Moondog (disambiguation).

Moondog
Background information
Birth name	Louis Thomas Hardin
Born	May 26, 1916(1916-05-26) in Marysville, Kansas, United States
Died	September 8, 1999(1999-09-08) (aged 83) in Münster, Germany
Genres	Avant-garde jazz, minimalism, outsider music
Occupations	Vocalist Percussionist Composer
Instruments	Keyboard, percussion, vocals
Years active	1932–1999
Website	managarm

Moondog, born Louis Thomas Hardin (May 26, 1916 – September 8, 1999), was a blind American composer, musician, poet and inventor of several musical instruments. Moving to New York as a young man, Moondog made a deliberate decision to make his home on the streets there, where he spent approximately twenty of the thirty years he lived in the city. Most days he could be found in his chosen part of town wearing clothes he had created based on his own interpretation of the Norse god Thor.^{[citation needed]} Thanks to his unconventional outfits and lifestyle, he was known for much of his life as "The Viking of 6th Avenue".^[1]

Early life

Born to an Episcopalian family in Marysville, Kansas, Hardin started playing a set of drums that he made from a cardboard box at the age of five. His family relocated to Wyoming and his father opened a trading post at Fort Bridger. Hardin attended school in a couple of small towns. At one point, his father took him to an Arapaho Sun Dance where he sat on the lap of Chief Yellow Calf and played a tom-tom made from buffalo skin.

Hardin played drums in Hurley High School before losing his sight in a farm accident at the age of 16. After learning the principles of music in several schools for blind young men across middle America, he taught himself the skills of ear training and composition. Principally self-taught, he studied with Burnet Tuthill and at the Iowa School for the Blind.

Hardin moved to Batesville, Arkansas where he lived until 1942, when he got a scholarship to study in Memphis, Tennessee. Although the majority of his musical training was self-taught by ear, he learned some music theory from books in braille there.

Hardin moved to New York in 1943, where he met noted classical music luminaries such as Leonard Bernstein and Toscanini, as well as legendary jazz performer-composers such as Charlie Parker and Benny Goodman, whose upbeat tempos and often humorous compositions would influence Hardin's later work.

New York City

From the late 1940s until 1974, Moondog lived as a street musician and poet in New York City, busking mostly on the corner of 53rd Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan. He was not homeless however, or at least not often—he maintained an apartment in upper Manhattan for most of his life.^[2] In addition to his music and poetry, he was also known for the distinctive fancy "Viking" garb that he wore, which included a horned helmet. He partially supported himself by selling copies of his poetry and his musical philosophy. Because of his street post's proximity to the famed 52nd Street nightclub strip, he was well-known to many jazz musicians and fans.

In 1947 Hardin adopted the pen name "Moondog" in honor of a dog "who used to howl at the moon more than any dog I knew of." In 1949 he traveled to a Blackfoot Sun Dance in Idaho where he performed on percussion and flute, returning to the Native American music he first came in contact with as a child. It was this Native music, along with contemporary jazz and classical, mixed with the ambient sounds from his environment (city traffic, ocean waves, babies crying, etc.) that created the foundation of Moondog's music.

In 1954, he won a case in the New York State Supreme Court against disc jockey Alan Freed, who had branded his radio show, "The Moondog Rock and Roll Matinee", around the name "Moondog", using "Moondog's Symphony" (the first record that Moondog ever cut) as his "calling card". Moondog believed he would not have won the case had it not been for the help of musicians such as Benny Goodman and Arturo Toscanini, who testified that he was a serious composer. Freed had to apologize and stop using the nickname "Moondog" on air, on the basis that Hardin was known by the name long before Freed began using it.^[3][4]

Germany

Moondog had an idealised view of Germany ("The Holy Land with the Holy River" — the Rhine), where he settled in 1974.

Eventually, a young German student^[5] named Ilona Sommer (birth name: Goebel) helped Moondog set up the primary holding company for his artistic endeavors^[6] and hosted him, first in Oer-Erkenschwick, and later on in Münster in Westphalia, Germany. Moondog lived with the family of Ilona Sommer and they spent time together in Münster. During that period Moondog created hundreds of compositions which were transferred from Braille to sheet music by Ilona Sommer. Moondog spent the remainder of his life in Germany where he died in 1999.

Moondog visited America briefly in 1989, for a tribute in which Philip Glass asked him to conduct the Brooklyn Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, at the New Music America Festival in Brooklyn, stimulating a renewed interest in his music.

He recorded many albums, and toured both in the U.S. and in Europe — France, Germany and Sweden.

Moondog's music

Moondog's music took its inspiration from street sounds, such as the subway or a foghorn. It tended to be relatively simple but characterized by what he called "snaketime" and described as "a slithery rhythm, in times that are not ordinary [...] I'm not gonna die in 4/4 time".^[4]

Moondog's work was early championed by Artur Rodziński, the conductor of New York Philharmonic in the 1940s. He released a number of 78s, 45s and EPs of his music in the 1950s, as well as several LPs on a number of notable jazz labels, including an unusual record of stories and songs for children with Julie Andrews and Martyn Green, in 1957, called Songs of Sense and Nonsense - Tell it Again. For ten years no new recordings were heard from Moondog until producer James William Guercio took him into the studio to record an album for Columbia Records in 1969.

A second album produced with Guercio featured one of Moondog's daughters as a vocalist and contained song compositions in canons and rounds. The album did not make as large an impression in popular music as the first had. The two CBS albums were re-released as a single CD in 1989.

Most of Moondog's works are published by Managarm Musikverlag in Germany. By his last will the heritage of Moondog is administered and owned by Ilona Sommer.

Inventions

The trimba, Moondog percussion instrument

Moondog also invented several musical instruments, including a small triangular-shaped harp known as the "oo", another which he named the "ooo-ya-tsu", and the "hüs" (after the Norwegian, "hus", meaning "house") which is a triangular stringed instrument played with a bow. Perhaps his best known creation is the "trimba", a triangular percussion instrument that the composer invented in the late 40s. The original Trimba is still played today by Moondog's friend Stefan Lakatos, a Swedish percussionist, to whom Moondog also explained the methods for building such an instrument.

Influence

The music of Moondog of the 1940s and 50s is said to have been a strong influence on many early minimalist composers. Philip Glass has written that he and Steve Reich took Moondog's work 'very seriously and understood and appreciated it much more than what we were exposed to at Juilliard.' ^[7]

Moondog inspired other musicians with several songs dedicated to him. These include "Moondog" on Pentangle's 1968 album Sweet Child and "Spear for Moondog" (parts I and II) by jazz organist Jimmy McGriff on his 1968 Electric Funk album. The English pop group Prefab Sprout included the song "Moondog" on their album Jordan: The Comeback released in 1990. Big Brother and the Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin covered the song "All Is Loneliness" on their 1967 self-titled album. The song was also covered by Antony and the Johnsons during their 2005 tour. Mr. Scruff's single "Get a Move On," from his album Keep It Unreal, is structured around samples from "Bird's Lament." New York band The Insect Trust play a cover of Moondog's song "Be a Hobo" on their album Hoboken Saturday Night. The track "Stamping Ground", with its odd preamble of Moondog saying one of his epigrams,^[8] was featured on the sampler double album Fill Your Head with Rock (CBS, 1970).

Discography

Singles

• "Snaketimes Rhythm" (1949–1950), SMC
• "Moondog's Symphony" (1949–1950), SMC
• "Organ Rounds" (1949–1950), SMC
• "Oboe Rounds" (1949–1950), SMC
• "Surf Session" (c. 1953), SMC
• "Caribea Sextet"/"Oo Debut" (1956), Moondog Records
• "Stamping Ground Theme" (from the Holland Pop Festival) (1970), CBS.

EPs

• Improvisations at a Jazz Concert (1953), Brunswick
• Moondog on the Streets of New York (1953), Decca/Mars
• Pastoral Suite / Surf Session (1953), SMC
• Moondog & His Honking Geese Playing Moondog's Music (1955), Moondog Records

Albums

• Moondog and His Friends (1953), Epic
• Moondog (1956), Prestige
• More Moondog (1956), Prestige
• The Story of Moondog (1957), Prestige
• Tell It Again (with Julie Andrews) (1957), Angel/Capital
• Moondog (not the same as the 1956 LP) (1969), Columbia
• Moondog 2 (1971), Columbia
• Moondog in Europe (1977), Kopf
• H'art Songs (1978), Kopf
• Moondog: Instrumental Music by Louis Hardin (1978), Musical Heritage Society
• A New Sound of an Old Instrument (1979), Kopf
• Facets (1981), Managarm
• Bracelli (1986), Kakaphone
• Elpmas (1992), Kopf
• Sax Pax for a Sax with the London Saxophonic (1994), Kopf/Atlantic
• Big Band (1995), Trimba
• To a Grain of Rice (1996), Paradise
• Bracelli und Moondog (2005), Laska Records

Compilations

• More Moondog/The Story of Moondog (1991), Original Jazz Classics
• Moondog/Moondog 2 (2001), Beat Goes On
• The German Years 1977–1999 (2005), ROOF Music
• Un hommage à Moondog tribute album (2005), trAce label
• The Viking Of 6th Avenue (2005, disc inside biographical book) Honest Jons (ISBN 0-976082-284)
• Rare Material (2006), ROOF Music

Various artist compilations

• New York 19 (recorded and edited by Tony Schwartz) (1954), Folkways
• Music in the Streets (recorded and edited by Tony Schwartz) (1954), Folkways
• Rosey 4 Blocks (arrangement by Andy Forsythe (1958), Rosey
• Fill Your Head With Rock (1970), CBS
• The Big Lebowski motion picture soundtrack (1998), Mercury
• Fsuk vol. 3: The Future Sound of the United Kingdom (1998), Fsuk
• Miniatures 2 (2000), Cherry Red
• DJ Kicks:Henrik Schwarz K7 Records (2006)
• Pineapple Express[Motion Picture Sound Track] (2008), Track 9. Birds Lament, Moondog & The London Saxophonic.

Performed by other musicians

• The album Moondog and Suncat Suite by British Jazz musician Kenny Graham features one side of interpretations of the work of Moondog (1957)
• "All Is Loneliness" by Big Brother and the Holding Company, featuring Janis Joplin, on their self-titled first album (1967)
• "Moondog" by Pentangle on their 1968 album Sweet Child
• "Spear for Moondog (parts 1 and 2)" by jazz organist Jimmy McGriff on his 1968 album Electric Funk
• "Be a Hobo" by The Insect Trust on their album Hoboken Saturday Night (1970)
• Canons on the Keys by Paul Jordan (1978), unreleased
• "Theme and Variations" performed by John Fahey on the album Rain Forests, Oceans and Other Themes (1985)^[9]
• Lovechild Plays Moondog 7" on Forced Exposure (1990)
• "Moondog" by Prefab Sprout on Jordan: The Comeback (1990)
• "All is Loneliness" by Motorpsycho (Album: Demon Box - 1993)
• Alphorn of Plenty by Hans Kennel (1995), Hat Art
• "Synchrony Nr. 2" by Kronos Quartet (1997)
• Trees Against the Sky compilation album (1998), SHI-RA-Nui 360°
• "Get a Move On" (remix of "Bird's Lament (In Memory of Charlie Parker)") by Mr. Scruff on Keep It Unreal (1999)
• "All Is Loneliness" by Antony and the Johnsons, live (2005)
• "Sidewalk Dances" - Joanna MacGregor & Britten Sinfonia (2005) Sound Circus SC010
• "Moondog Sharp Harp" by Xenia Narati (2006), Ars Musici
• "Paris" by Jens Lekman, live (2007)
• "New Amsterdam" by Pink Martini (Splendor in the Grass, 2009)
• "The Orastorios - Moondog rounds", Stefan Lakatos/Andreas Heuser, Makro 2010
• "Makin Moonshine - Moondog Songs by Moondog Fans" by Various Artists 2011

References

1. ^ Sidewalk Hero, on the Horns of a RevivalJOHN STRAUSBAUGH, NYTimes, October 28, 2007
2. ^ Scotto, Robert. Moondog, The Viking of 6th Avenue: The Authorized Biography. Process Music edition (22 November 2007) ISBN 9780976082286
3. ^ History.com
4. ^ ^{a b} Interview with Robert Scotto at To the Best of Our knowledge - http://broadcast.uwex.edu:8080/ramgen/wpr/bok/bok080127b.rm. The interview begins at 38:15, the Freed case is discussed from 49:00 on.
5. ^ http://webbspunideas.blogspot.com/2007/11/moondog-in-new-york.html
6. ^ according to Steve Dalachinsky http://www.brooklynrail.org/2008/02/music/outtakes.
7. ^ Glass, P. (2008) Preface. In: Scotto, R. (2008). Moondog: The Viking of 6th Avenue. New York: Process
8. ^ Moondog is heard saying, "Machines were mice and men were lions once upon a time. But now that it's the opposite it's twice upon a time."
9. ^ "Rain Forests Oceans & Other Themes". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r96176. Retrieved 2008-06-10. 

Biography

• Scotto, Robert. Moondog, The Viking of 6th Avenue: The Authorized Biography. Process Music edition (22 November 2007) ISBN 9780976082286 (preface by Philip Glass)

External links

• Moondog - official website
• Moondog discography at Discogs
• Moondog memorial on FindAGrave
• Bach Meets Moondog with Joanna MacGregor, at the 2006 London Jazz Festival
• 2003 Britten Sinfonia Moondog tour with Joanna MacGregor, article in The Independent
• 2-hour radio show featuring Moondog's biographer, and many of the composer's recordings (Starts at 00:07:00 into recording)
• Stefan Lakatos - Moondog Trimbapercussion
• Moondog's Corner The original Fan Website
• Xenia Narati Moondog Interpreter (Concert Harp)

Persondata
Name	Moondog
Alternative names	Hardin, Louis Thomas
Short description	American composer
Date of birth	1916-05-26
Place of birth	Marysville, Kansas
Date of death	1999-09-08
Place of death	Münster, Germany