21 Facts About Tim Hardin

James Timothy Hardin was an American folk music and blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.

Tim Hardin was raised in Oregon and had no interest in school, withdrawing before graduating high school, and joining the Marines.

Tim Hardin performed at the Newport Folk Festival and at Woodstock.

Tim Hardin struggled with drug abuse throughout most of his adult life and his live performances were sometimes erratic.

Tim Hardin was planning a comeback when he died in late 1980 from an accidental heroin overdose.

Tim Hardin was born in Eugene, Oregon to Hal and Molly Hardin, who both had musical backgrounds.

Tim Hardin's mother was a violinist and concertmaster of the Portland Symphony Orchestra and his father played bass in jazz bands in the Army and in college.

Tim Hardin first tried heroin while stationed with the Marines in Southeast Asia.

Tim Hardin was eventually dropped for poor attendance and began to focus on his music, performing around Greenwich Village playing folk songs and blues.

Tim Hardin moved to Boston in 1963 and became part of a growing folk music scene there.

The next year, Tim Hardin returned to Greenwich Village to record for Columbia and recorded several demos as an audition that the label did not release.

Tim Hardin can sing nasty, but his forte is gentle songs whose case allows him to slip and slide through a rainbow of emotions.

Tim Hardin recorded "Black Sheep Boy" in 1966, a song about his drug use and the alienation from his family.

Tim Hardin began performing poorly and missing shows, reputedly falling asleep on stage at London's Royal Albert Hall in 1968.

In 1969, Tim Hardin appeared at the Woodstock Festival, where he sang "If I Were a Carpenter" solo and played a set of his songs backed by a full band.

Tim Hardin sold the rights to his songs, but accounts of how this happened differ.

In late November 1975, Tim Hardin performed as a guest lead vocalist with the German experimental rock band Can for two UK concerts at Hatfield Polytechnic in Hertfordshire and at London's Drury Lane Theatre.

The police determined that there was no evidence of foul play, and it was initially believed that Tim Hardin had died from a heart attack.

Tim Hardin was interred at Twin Oaks Cemetery in Turner, Oregon.

In January of 2013, a tribute album, Reason to Believe: The Songs of Tim Hardin featuring indie and alternative rock bands from the UK and US was released.

Bob Dylan reportedly said that Tim Hardin was "the greatest living songwriter" after hearing his first album.