The birth of Louis Hardin (1916-1999) into a farming family in Kansas, and his subsequent youth in Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa and Tennessee failed to yield yet another all-American, corn-fed boy to the Bible Belt. Instead, he re-invented himself as Moondog, an eccentric street person in New York City, busking his musical genius in a ridiculous Viking costume for the amusement of passers-by - even though he was welcomed to conduct and perform his works with the New York Philharmonic and in the great music halls of Europe.Blinded by an accident with explosives at the age of 16, Hardin acquired his musical training at the various schools for the blind that he attended throughout the midwest. In 1943, he moved to New York City and remained there until 1972. Although he spent much of that time as a street performer, the rumor or legend that he was homeless is not true. He had an upper Manhattan apartment, as well as a country retreat in Upstate New York. In the early 70s he relocated to Münster, Germany, where he resided until his death in 1999.
While the bulk of his recordings are currently out-of-print, a few of his more popular titles can still be hunted down, or found on music streaming services. This brief little piano etude is a personal favorite:
Wikipedia article: Moondog
