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John Hardy
Composer: Traditional

John Hardy was performed by the Black Mountain Boys on the 6th and 7th March 1964. John Hardy was one of the songs rehearsed by the Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan prior to the 1987 Dylan & The Dead tour but it was not performed live.

On some recordings of the song the title is given as John Hardy (Was A Desperate Little Man).

The song is possibly based on a real John Hardy who was executed in 1894 for a murder committed during a gambling fight.



Jerry Garcia recordings

info Before The Dead, Jerry Garcia, 2018

Other recordings

This list is not intended to be comprehensive. There are many recordings of John Hardy. This list may be expanded at a later date.

no info Joe Russell, 1936
no info Anthology of American Folk Music, Vol. 1, Ballads, Various Artists (Carter Family), 1952
no info The Wayfaring Stranger, Burl Ives, 1955
info Bloody Ballads, Paul Clayton, 1956
info Blood, Booze 'n Bones, Ed McCurdy, 1956
info Gambling Songs, Logan English, 1957
info American Ballads, Pete Seeger, 1957
no info Buell Kazee Sings and Plays, Buell Kazee, 1958
info Sings American Folk Songs, Walt Robertson, 1959
no info Goodnight Irene, Leadbelly, 195?
info Lilly Brothers and Don Stover, Lilly Brothers and Don Stover, 1962
info Bluegrass Ramble, Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, 1962
info Dulcimer Songs and Solos, Paul Clayton, 1962
info Folk Banjo Styles, Eric Weissberg, Tom Paley, Art Rosenbaum, Marshall Brickman, 1962
no info Sings Folk Songs, Frank Hamilton, 1962
info Frank Proffitt Sings Folk Songs, Frank Proffitt, 1962
info Old Time Country Music, Mike Seeger, 1962
no info Pete Seeger at the Village Gate, Vol.2, Pete Seeger, 1962
no info Single, Down State Ramblers, 1962
info Philadelphia Folk Festival, Vol. 1, Various Artists (Mike Seeger/Sonny Miller), 1962
info Way Out West With, Alex Campbell, 1963
info Hootenanny!, Various Artists (Mike Seeger), 1963
no info Hobart Smith, Hobart Smith, 1964
info Adventures for 12 String, 6 String and Banjo, Dick Rosmini, 1964
info Anita and Helen Carter, Anita and Helen Carter, 1964
info Folk Songs with the Seegers, Pete Seeger, Peggy Seeger and Mike Seeger, 1965
no info Strictly Instrumental, Flatt and Scruggs With Doc Watson, 1966
info Bluegrass From the Blue Ridge: Country Band Music of Virginia, Various Artists (Wade Ward, Fields Ward and Glen Smith), 1967
no info Cisco Houston Sings American Folk Songs, Cisco Houston, 1968
no info Single (Why Do You Punish Me This Way / John Hardy), Archie Jones & The Miami Valley Boys, 1968
no info The Old Timey Rap: American Songs & Instrumentals, Hobart Smith, 1968
no info Tommy and Fred - Best Fiddle-Banjo Duets, Tommy Jarrell and Fred Cockerham, 196?
no info Folk Banjo Styles, Eric Weissberg, 196?
no info Early Country Music: Vol. 1, Various Artists (Ernest Stoneman And The Sweet Brothers), 196?
info Dock Boggs, Vol. 3, Dock Boggs, 1970
info Traditional Country Music, Betsy Rutherford, 1971
no info Fiddler's Convention in Mountain City, Tennessee, Clarence Ashley, 1972
no info Ola Belle Reed, Ola Belle Reed, 1973
no info Dueling Banjos, Earl Scruggs, 1973
info Got Me A Martin Guitar, Tony Rice, 1973?
no info Come and Go With Me, Tommy Jarrell, 1974
no info Let's Go Riding: Country Blues And Old Time Music, John Miller, 1974
no info Bluegrass Blast: A Mixed Bag of Ol' Timey Music, Roger Sprung, 1974
no info Right Hand Man, Tom Adams, 1975
no info Pickin' Around The Cookstove, Various Artists, 1975
info Walkin' in the Parlor: Old Time Music of the Southern Mountains, Iron Mountain String Band, 1975
info Live at McCabe's, Norman Blake, 1976
no info Poor Richard's Almanac, Poor Richard's Almanac, 1976
info Blue Grass Sring Band, Vol. 2, The Virginia Mountain Boys, 1977
info In Concert, Byron Berline, Sam Bush & Mark O'Connor, 1977
no info Essential Pete Seeger, Pete Seeger, 1978
no info Raw Marsh, Hamper McBee, 1978
no info Saturday Night at the Bull and Mouth, Ewan McColl, 1978
no info Clawhammer Banjo, Vol. 3, Esker Hutchins, 1978
info Guitar, Tony Rice, 1979?
no info Dixie Darling, Mother Maybelle Carter, 197?
no info Camp Creek Boys Through The Years, Camp Creek Boys, 197?
no info Guitar, Tony Rice, 197?
no info Round The Heart Of Old Galax, Vol. 1, Featuring Ernest Stoneman, Ernest Stoneman, 1980
info Fiddle Tunes for Banjo, Tony Trischka / Bill Keith / Bela Fleck, 1981
no info Reflections On The Carter Family, Ron Penix, 1981
info Festival Favorites: Nashville Sessions, Alan Munde, 1982
no info Looking Off Down The Road, Clint Howard, 1983
no info Clawhammer Banjo, David Johnson, 1983
info Banjo Pickin' Girl, Lily May Ledford, 1983
info Bleecker & Macdougal: Folk Scene of the 1960's, Various Artists (Koerner, Ray & Glover), 1984
no info Kentucky Colonels On Stage, Kentucky Colonels, 1984
info Cold on the Shoulder, Tony Rice, 1984
info Tribute to Tommy Jarrell, Various Artists (James R Leva), 1986
no info 51st Annual Galax Old Fiddlers Convention, Various Artists (New Tradition), 1987
no info Old Time Friends, Ray Alden, 1987
info Family & Friends, Don Reno, 1988
no info Library Of Congress Banjo Collection, Various Artists (Austin Harmon), 1988
info Rounder Bluegrass, Vol. 2, Various Artists (Tony Rice), 1988
no info Folk Favourites, Chris Montgomery, 1989
info Ring of Fire, Anita Carter, 1989
info Bluegrass 1959-1969, Bill Monroe, 1991
info 1964-1969, Plus, Flatt & Scruggs, 1992
info Son of Rounder Banjo, Various Artists (Tommy Neal), 1992
no info Round Peak Band, Round Peak Band, 1992
info Rare, Live and Classic, Joan Baez, 1993
info Prestige/Folklore Years, Vol. 4: Singing Out Loud: Philadelphia Folk Festival, Various Artists (Mike Seeger and Sonny Miller)), 1994
info 1956-1968, The Osborne Brothers, 1995
info Hills of Home: 25 Years of Folk Music on Rounder Records, Various Artists (Leadbelly), 1995
no info Hei-Wa Hoedown, Walt Koken, 1995
info An American Folk Song Anthology, John Stewart, 1996
info American Journey, John Stewart, 1996
no info Bourgeois Blues, Leadbelly Legacy, Vol. 2, Leadbelly, 1997
info His Folkways Years: 1963-1968, Dock Boggs, 1998
info Left Of Cool, Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, 1998
info My Rough and Rowdy Ways Volume 1, Various Artists (Sweet Brothers and Ernest Stoneman), 1998
info Legacy of Tommy Jarrell, Vol. 3: Come and Go with Me, Tommy Jarrell, 1999
info First Time Live: A Long Time Ago, The Dillards, 1999
info Kentucky Old-Time Banjo, Various Artists (Buell Kazee), 1999
no info Field and Wade Ward, Fields and Wade Ward, 19??
no info The Legendary Carter Family, Carter Family, 19??
no info Single, Archie Jones and the Miami Valley Boys, 19??
no info Single, Tim Harkleroad, 19??
no info EP, B ill Monroe & his Blue Grass Boys, 19??
info In the Shadow of Clinch Mountain, The Carter Family, 2000
info Kentucky Home, Tim Lake, 2000
info Three August Nights Live, Northern Lights & Vassar Clements, 2000
info Dueling Banjos / Live at Kansas State, Earl Scruggs, 2000
info Best of the Vanguard Years, Cisco Houston, 2000
no info American Roots: A History of American Folk Music, Various Artists (Carter Family), 2000
info Cowboy Girl, Katy Moffatt, 2001
info On the Road (And More), The Country Gentlemen, 2001
info Front Porch Pickin': 24 Great Bluegrass Instrument, Various Artists (Earl Taylor), 2001
info The Carter Family: 1927-1934, The Carter Family, 2002
info On The Road: April 27, 2002, New Orleans, LA, String Cheese Incident, 2002
info Kentucky Mountain Music, Various Artists (Walter Williams), 2003
info On the Road: October 29, 2002, San Diego, String Cheese Incident, 2003
info Essential Bluegrass, Various Artists (Randy Howard), 2003
info The Executioners Last Songs, Vol 2 & 3, The Pine Valley Cosmonauts, 2003
info Box Of The Blues, Various Artists (George Thorogood), 2003
info The Essential Earl Scruggs, Earl Scruggs, 2004
info Classic Folk Music from Smithsonian Folkways, Various Artists (Mike Seeger), 2004
info Live at the Ragged Edge, Tom Adams and Michael Cleveland, 2004
info On the Road: March 13, 2004, Denver CO, String Cheese Incident, 2004
info On The Road: October 11, 2005, Ithaca, NY, String Cheese Incident, 2005
info Leave the Light On, Chris Smither, 2006
info American Favorite Ballads, Vol. 4 (expanded CD), Pete Seeger, 2006
info Only Home I've Had, Eric Lewis/Andy Ratliff, 2006
info Early Recordings 1959, Rodney and Doug Dillard, 2006
info Live at the Majestic Theater, David Thom Band, 2006
info Red Clay Country, Paul Brown, 2006
info True Bluegrass Essentials, Various Artists (Tony Rice), 2006
no info Sound Traditions: Burnin' Up the Strings, Various Artists (Earl Taylor & Jim McCall), 2006
info Classic African American Ballads from Smithsonian Folkways, Various Artists (Leadbelly), 2006
info True Bluegrass Instrumentals, Various Artists (Tony Rice), 2007
info The Unsung Father of Country Music 1925-1934, Ernest V. Stoneman, 2008
info Mountain Frolic: Rare Old Timey Classics 1924-37, Various Artists (Buell Kazee), 2008
info Murder, Theft and Devlish Deals, Various Artists (Carter Family), 2009
info Gennett Old Time Music: Classic Country Recordings 1927-1934, Various Artists (Ernest Stoneman), 2010
info Let's All Do Some Living, Cane Mill Road, 2019
info Sundrops on The Water: Reflections, The Sharp Flatpickers, 2020
info Live At The Birchmere, Tony Rice Unit, 2022
info Live At The Birchmere 12/31/89, Tony Rice Unit, 2022
info Bluegrass 2022, Scott Vestal et al, 2022

 
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