John Hartford, Pilot of a Steam Powered Aereo-Plain

Book excerpt: The 1971 seminal Aereo-Plain album from John Hartford opened the doors for a new wave of contemporary bluegrass that would eventually take on its own identity as newgrass. The writer of pop classic "Gentle on My Mind," John Hartford brought a '70s songwriter sensibility to a traditional music format, and brought a new generation to the bluegrass world of Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs and company. With pages of exclusive and never-before-seen photos from John Hartford's personal collection, this book tells the story of John's journey from St. Louis to Nashville with a few crazy Hollywood TV star years in between. Author Andrew Vaughan poured through the files and memorabilia of John Hartford's archive and talked to key players in Hartford's life to tell the story of John Hartford's journey to Aereo-Plain.