[Shipyard Sam]

The Country Music Hall of Fame opened a display of John Hartford's life, music and love of steamboats. See an excerpt from the press release below on the exhibit.

New Spotlight Exhibit Salutes Acclaimed Songwriter,
Musician and Creative Free Spirit

NASHVILLE, Tenn., January 9, 2009 – John Hartford’s storied life and uniquely American music is the subject of the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum’s newest spotlight exhibit, John Hartford: Ever Smiling, Ever Gentle on My Mind, which opens January 24, 2009. The exhibit examines many aspects of Hartford’s career, including his songwriting success with the country-pop standard “Gentle on My Mind”; his experimental and influential approach to traditional music; and his endeavors as an artist, performer, steamboat pilot, author and historian.

Incorporating moving images, photographs, costumes, handwritten lyrics and instruments from the Museum’s collection and the Hartford family, the spotlight exhibit, located within the Museum’s permanent exhibition, will run through January 2010.

“In many ways, John Hartford is the Mark Twain of traditional music,” said Mick Buck, the Museum’s curator of collections. “He was a beloved American figure whose influence went far beyond his commercial success. He brought literacy, humor and inventiveness to his music, and an eclectic sense of adventure to his life. He was a true artist in every sense of the word.”

Among the artifacts on display in John Hartford: Ever Smiling, Ever Gentle on My Mind are:

* Hartford’s gold-plated Fender Concert Tone five-string banjo used on the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour and on his album Aereo-Plain. The banjo includes a riverboat sketch drawn by Hartford on the banjo head.
* Hartford’s black Stetson bowler, thirteen-pocket vest and Italian wingtip shoes worn during many performances.
* One of Hartford’s riverboat sketches for the cover of his 1979 album Slumberin’ on the Cumberland.
* Hartford’s steamboat pilot license, issued in 1987.
* Hartford’s custom-made 1988 Barnes & Lamb violin. The instrument features a carving of his bust on the scroll, lyrics from “Gentle on My Mind” on the sides, and a carved anchor and painting of a steamboat on the back.