Moondog, The Viking of 6th Avenue: The Authorized Biography [Paperback]

Robert Scotto (Author), Philip Glass (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2007

"Moondog is one of America’s great originals."—Alan Rich, New York Magazine

Here is one of the most improbable lives of the twentieth century: a blind and homeless man who became the most famous eccentric in New York and who, with enormous diligence, rose to prominence as an internationally respected music presence.

Born Louis Thomas Hardin in 1916, Moondog first made an impression in the late 1940s when he became a mascot of The New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall. His unique, melodic compositions were released on the Prestige jazz label. In the late 1960s the Viking-garbed Moondog was a pop music sensation on Columbia Records. Moondog is the noted inspiration for the contemporary freak folk movement led by Devendra Banhart.

Moondog's compositional style influenced his former roommate, Philip Glass, whose Preface and performances of Moondog works appear in the book. Moondog's work transcends labels and redefines the distinction between popular and high culture. A CD compilation with a variety of Moondog's compositions is bound into the book.

The CD tracklisting is as follows:

1: Caribea (1:32)

Performer/Composer: Moondog

2: To a Sea Horse (1:43)

Performer/Composer: Moondog

3: Trees Against the Sky (.51)

Performer/Composer: Moondog

4: Oo Debut (1:09)

Performer/Composer: Moondog

5: Autumn (2:07)

Performer/Composer: Moondog

6: Moondog Monologue (8:24)

Performer/Composer: Moondog

7: Moondog’s Theme (1:53)

Performer/Composer: Moondog

8: Trimbas in Quarters (1:47)

Performer/Composer: Moondog

9: I Came Into This World Alone (1:19)

Performers: Moondog, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Jon Gibson

Composer: Moondog

10: Be a Hobo (1:22)

Performers: Moondog, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Jon Gibson

Composer: Moondog

11: Why Spend the Dark Night With You (1:40)

Performers: Moondog, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Jon Gibson

Composer: Moondog

12: All is Loneliness (1:38)

Performers: Moondog, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Jon Gibson

Composer: Moondog

13: Organ Rounds (2:04)

Performer/Composer: Moondog

14: Canon in F Major, Book I (.43)

Performer: Paul Jordan

Composer: Moondog

15: Canon in B Flat Major, Book III (1:36)

Performer: Paul Jordan

Composer: Moondog

16: Canon in B Flat Major, Book I (.43)

Performer: Paul Jordan

Composer: Moondog

17: Canon in B Flat Major, Book II (.28)

Performer: Paul Jordan

Composer: Moondog

18: Canon in G Sharp Minor, Book I (.44)

Performer: Paul Jordan

Composer: Moondog

19: Canon in C Sharp Minor, Book II (1:32)

Performer: Paul Jordan

Composer: Moondog

20: 5/4 Snakebite Rattle (3:41)

Performer: Stefan Lakatos

Composer: Moondog

21: Trimbas and Woodblock in 5/2 (1:26)

Performer: Stefan Lakatos

Composer: Moondog

22: When I Am Deep in Sleep (2:17)

Performer: Stefan Lakatos

Composer: Moondog

23: Rabbit Hop (2:25)

Performer/Composer: Moondog

24: Dog Trot (2:25)

Performer/Composer: Moondog

25: Bird’s Lament (2:00)

Performer/Composer: Moondog

26: Viking 1 (2:55)

Performer/Composer: Moondog

27: Heimdall Fanfare (3:06)

Performer/Composer: Moondog

28: Intro and Overtone Continuum (2:22)

Performer/Composer: Moondog

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Scotto is a professor of literature at Baruch College, CUNY. Among his publications are a Critical Edition of Catch-22 and several monographs and articles on 19th and 20th century fiction.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: PROCESS (November 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976082284
• ISBN-13: 978-0976082286
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,273,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars MOONDOG, November 13, 2007

By 

Felix Hayman "FSH" (Canberra Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moondog, The Viking of 6th Avenue: The Authorized Biography (Paperback)

What makes a musical genius? Is it the quality of their music, or their role in history, or the hindsight of critical analysis? To some composers, it is the combination of a unique story, a unique mode of composing or a unique way of looking at the world. This was the case with Louis Hardin aka Moondog who has, at last, had a gentle and rewarding biography written by Robert Scotto. It is a remarkable story in the American mythology that began in Wisconsin and a childhood growing up in Wyoming with his preacher father. Louis' early musical education was with the music teachers of the state but he hardly got a pass grade school in his education. As the years went by he drifted to New York where he spent 25 years begging on street corners. During this time he composed several major works and many many epigraphs - short songs that captured the passer by with their imaginative nature. As time went on he almost inadvertently became the darling of the avant garde and was renowned for his songs and drumming. He was befriended by Philip Glass and Steve Reich (some of their collaborations are heard on the extra CD) but after a failed marriage he remained a shadowy figure in the American Classical music world. By luck he managed to move to Germany in 1974 where he achieved a cult status among musicians. It seems so sad that it has taken such a long time to recognise this sensitive musician who, at his death had composed hundreds of songs, invented (a la Harry Partch) new instruments and had almost completed some 200 Symphonies.. Scotto is to be praised for trying to give the 21st century the dream of an almost forgotten genius of the 20th

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally a full documentation!, November 9, 2007

By 

Paul Jordan (New Haven, CT, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moondog, The Viking of 6th Avenue: The Authorized Biography (Paperback)

Moondog (aka Louis Hardin, 1916-1999), the great American original, blind street musician, brilliant composer, gentle conversationalist, writer of wise/witty aphorisms, friend of the great and near-great -- not to mention of the "common man" -- who spent the latter part of his life in Europe (where recognition was faster in coming), at long last has his life story in print. Robert Scotto, a professor at Baruch College of C.U.N.Y., spent many years researching, interviewing his subject, as well as many of his colleagues and friends, and produced this well-written, entertaining and wise story of the life of the eccentric artist who was both personally and musically one of a kind! Scotto balances the most unusual story with perceptive yet readily accessible discussion of the wide span of Moondog's music, ranging from drum solos, through madrigals, keyboard and chamber music, to symphonic essays for large orchestra, and enhances it with a selection of intriguing photographs, an excellent
"sampler" CD of compositions spanning a half century of creativity from shortly after Moondog's arrival in New York in the 1940s to his last years in the 1990s in Germany, and a foreword by Phillip Glass (a master of contemporary musical "minimalism"). Full disclosure: as a friend of Moondog's and a contributor to the CD, this reviewer's name appears in the book. Based on its merits, however -- and those of its unique and lovable subject -- I'm confident that there will be other reviewers, with no axe at all to grind, whose comments will affirm my positive view and appreciation of this long-awaited, substantial and revealing biography.
Paul Jordan

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great package deal and interesting biography, September 21, 2008

By 

Quickhappy "quickhappy" (Big city, big country) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moondog, The Viking of 6th Avenue: The Authorized Biography (Paperback)

I had to learn more about Moondog. I enjoy Moondog's music: he reminds me of Philip Glass and those who tend to the fringes of American society. When I found out that the man lived on the streets for years, I was compelled to look into this man's life. Scotto, a professor in upstate New York, has delivered a meticulously researched biography.

Moondog's life is documented in great detail, from start to finish. Indeed, I was often a bit bogged down by the details of his boyhood days in Wyoming, or the myriad details of Moondog's poems (madrigals). I began to pick up the book with less enthusiasm, as I tired of minutia, and longed for more of Scotto's insights into the character, social context, and direction of Moondog. Still, I leave the book with an excellent cd in my collection and a sense of Moondog: a difficult, sometimes brilliant, sometimes hare-brained, musician. I had my issues with the length and style of the biography, but I wholeheartedly commend Scotto for leaving an impressive record of a significant figure in American music.