May 26, 1916: Louis "Moondog" Hardin - Marysville, Kansas
From a long long life, mostly two days during his return to New York City in 1989. And with lots and lots of links and a hope that the documentary I heard about sees the light of day soon!
Technically, Louis “Moondog” Hardin made three appearances at the New Music America festival in NYC in 1989. We first got to see/hear him in a short set as part of the gala opening night when he was introduced to the sold out audience at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
It was Steve Reich who introduced Moondog during the Gala, but Allen Ginsberg was also part of that gathering. At the Ginsberg Org’s website, a very nice lengthy tribute was posted from which came this picture: https://allenginsberg.org/2022/09/sept-8/
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F68645d1c-86b9-4bf4-8835-1a5726a74796_1638x1222.png)
Steve Reich introduces Moondog, Moondog’s Surf City
The full gala details (including a welcome letter from Ed Koch, and my recording from the audience, including an audio recording of Laurie Anderson taking my photo) are here:
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There is a documentary about Moondog in progress (it may have been completed but not yet released to my knowledge) but the people who put it together also gathered many videos and materials related to Moondog:
https://www.thevikingof6thavenue.com/video
Trailer here: https://www.thevikingof6thavenue.com/
This is not a soundtrack but bearing the same title, a 2004 compilation of Moondog’s works:
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Getting back to New Music America 1989: previews
Then there is Moondog. Back from the days when New York street musicians did more than sing or play along with recordings, Moondog, you may recall, was a Fifth Avenue visage - a wizened, blind Nordic bard who recited poetry and wrote curiously sweet, old-fashioned music and briefly became a hippie celebrity thanks to CBS records.
Well, Moondog's back, and he will be featured in a positively off-beat orchestral program by the Brooklyn Philharmonic at BAM November 17, a program that also includes the first orchestral work by madcap improvisor John Zorn and a piece by the alluring Minimalist Robert Moran.
With works also by the serious Gloria Coates and by jazz musician Lawrence "Butch" Morris, this concert would probably be the concert recommended to someone who can only go to one festival event, if it were not for "A Wall of Rzewski".
- Mark Swed's preview in 7 Days, November 8, 1989
New York Times preview by Allan Kozinn:
(those missing bits at the bottom)
…and a year later, after he began studying… stringed instruments, organ and harmony...
I just wanted to… do my own thing, and no matter how much it cost me…
I wouldn't want… to be on the street anymore. But you know, that led to a lot of things.''
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This is my recording of the concert of the Brooklyn Philharmonic with Moondog, from November 16, 1989:
From the official program that night:
Kyle Gann’s feature essay / preview in the Village Voice:
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SAMM DU JOUR: the oldest video at the official you tube channel for Samm Bennett’s Polarity Records is this one, which features Samm in a duo named Skist with Haruna Ito. This was uploaded in 2007 and before Bandcamp was invented, so I’ll add that at the bottom; lyrics in the y2b so you can sing along!