Moondog - Moondog

Moondog was the alias of Louis T. Hardin (May 26, 1916 – September 8, 1999). He was a New York City street musician and former beat poet who was blinded as a young adult. From the late 1940s until 1974, he was a permanent fixture, busking on 54th Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan. He was known not only for his music and poetry, but also for the distinctive Viking garb that he wore, including a horned helmet. He routinely gave away copies of his work to anybody who would take them. In this way, he came to the attention of producer James William Guercio, who took him into the studio to record an album, released as Moondog (1969) on the CBS label. The track Stamping Ground, with its odd preamble of Moondog saying one of his epigrams, was featured on the sampler double album Fill Your Head with Rock. A brief phrase of another track on the album, Bird's Lament (In memory of Charlie Parker) was sampled by Mr. Scruff as the basis for his 7-minute track Get a Move On.

A second album produced with Guercio, and featuring both him and Moondog's daughter as vocalists, contained song compositions in the forms of canons and rounds. It did not make an impression on popular music as the first had. The two CBS albums were re-released as a single CD in 1989.

Year of Release: 1969
Label: CBS
Genre: Classical/Experimental
Bitrate: 256kbps

Track List:
1. Theme
2. Stamping Ground
3. Symphonique #3 (Ode To Venus)
4. Symphonique #6 (Good For Goodie)
5. Cuplet
6. Minisym #1
7. Lament I, Bird's Lament
8. Witch Of Endor
9. Symphonique #1 (Portrait Of A Monarch)

Download: Moondog - Moondog (58MB)