The unusual title I have given this homepage comes from a great article written by Derek Halsey. In the article, Derek writes that John had originally wanted to name his website "Delusions of Banjer". "John, you got it". I've more recently heard Mike Seeger say that "Banjer" is not too far off base if you listen to him as he talks about his gourd banjer in the video section of this website.

This site is for those who have a love for John's music and the music that John loved. Hopefully it will help new Hartford fans to get to know John a little better. Maybe it will create a new and greater interest in his life and music. John and I were good friends during our teenage years when bluegrass was fairly new and John was absorbing all he could of Earl Scruggs. I use to tape the Martha White show at 8:00 on Saturday night and many of the 5:45 AM shows when I could wake up for them. John would come over to my house or I'd go to his to listen to the latest tapes I had made and to do some jamin'. I was never very good on the guitar, but it was helpful to John to have someone to practice with. To back up a bit, I met John in the summer of 56' up in WSM's studio C where the Friday Night Frolic and pre Opry shows use to take place. It seated, maybe 150 to 200 people. For some strange reason I can still remember where John was sitting when we met that night. There are some photos that I took of Flatt & Scruggs the night I met John. I have them posted in another area on this site. This studio was a great "up close and personal" venue, & can you believe that all the shows were free. To give you an idea of how up close and personal it was there, I remember one afternoon Paul & I got on the elevator to go up to the Studio and who got on with us but Bill Monroe. I remember Paul nudging me and looking over at me with a "shit-eatin' grin". Of course Bill was like "God" to us at the time. We were only 14 or 15 when we first starting going to Nashville. Greyhound bus was our mode of transportation back than. Now back to the night I first met John. Paul Breidenbach & I had gone down to Nashville for one of our frequent junkets to the Opry. We were up in Studio C at WSM watching a show when we met John. Of course it was a surprise to meet another person from St.Louis as kids way down in Nashville. I think the three of us had a sense that night, as we shared conversations about Monroe & Flatt & Scruggs, that we would wind up being friends when we got back home. It turns out that John only lived about 10 minutes from where Paul & I lived. That began my friendship with John. As I find it appropriate, I will tell more stories about future trips we made to the Opry and our friendship over the years.

The following are some of the things I hope to accomplish with this site:

· Provide some pleasure, fun and maybe a few surprises.

· Be a gateway into John's music and the traditional bluegrass and country music that he loved, especially for those who have never experienced either.

· A place to get a deeper glimpse into John's life via photos, sound bites, and stories from fans, friends, and fellow musicians.

· Although quite a bit of this site will be devoted to John Hartford, I want it to be a place where people can learn more about traditional string band & ole time music such as what the Reeltime Travelers are performing today.

· You will find some history of this music here but you will also get a chance to get connected up with today's traditional country and bluegrass music performers.

· I will provide plenty of online music for you to listen to, but I will also provide lots of music for free downloading. Much of the music for downloading will be shows that have been recorded from groups such as John Hartford, Reeltime Travelers and many others that allowed their live performances to be recorded. I will also be putting up some extremely rare music that I taped myself either in person or from WSM during the 1950's. I also have a library of well over 20 Grand Ole Opry shows from around 1959 that are in pristine condition. These 50's Opry shows will soon be available for downloading and listening to samples on line.

· Secretly, I would like this site to play a small part in bringing about an Opry revival. Let the entertainment moguls try and control the Britney Spears of the world but not the Opry. The Grand Ole Opry belongs to the fans. There is an enormous amount of talent around today that could bring it about. I am going to give you glimpses of a Grand Ole Opry that most of you don't know. Many of you "Deadheads" (Yes I know a lot of John's fans fall into this category) and under 50 folks can't possibly have a feel for what it was like to visit the Nashville back in the fifties. In an evening you could see and hear for free, up close and personal, dozens of musicians such as Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubb, Marty Robins, Minnie Pearl, Carl Smith, Faron Young, Ferlin Husky, Cowboy Copas, George Morgan, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Grandpa Jones, Lonzo & Oscar, Fruit Jar Drinkers, Crook Brothers, Sam & Kirk McGee, Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper, and the list goes on. The summer of 02', I sat with my 21 year old son Keith and a friend - Scott Exum watching a "Down From The Mountain" show. I remember leaning over to Keith and Scott and saying "You're seeing a glimpse of what the Opry was like fifty years ago".

In my effort to provide this site with some of the things I listed above, I ask all of you that can, to contribute things such as copies of photos, written stories, and public domain recordings. You might be an old time fan as I am and just have some good memories or stories related to this music. Heck you don't even have to be that old to have some memories or stories about John or new groups such as the Reeltime Travelers. I would love to interview you and pass some of your memories on to folks that didn't get a chance to see John in person. There are many other venues such as the Goodledays group on AOL, SPPS and Bluegrassbox.com for obtaining music, but this site's main goal will be to excite, educate and plant a seed that will grow and nurture new generations of Hartford, bluegrass, and old time music fans. Please consider offering anything that might help me reach these goals. I would be more than happy to give you credit for any items that are donated or you can remain anonymous, I'll leave that up to you. Please contact me if you think you might have something that would be useful for this site. You can leave me a message in the guestbook or if you prefer a more private interaction, drop me an email at the following address: johnhotze@sbcglobal.net.