Freed was told to stop calling himself Moondog on air. Moondog took Freed to the New York State Supreme Court, where Toscanini appeared on his behalf, testifying to his seriousness as a composer. In 1954, Freed titled his New York radio show The Moondog Rock & Roll Matinee and used ‘Moondog’s Symphony’ as one of the programme’s idents. Like ‘Snaketime Rhythms’, Moondog’s second single sold only a few hundred copies, but one of them found its way to the high-profile rock’n’roll deejay Alan Freed. Moondog’s Symphony Part 1 (Timberwolf) / Part 2 (Sagebrush) Self-overdubbing remained at the core of his recordings. Unable to find, or perhaps to afford, accompanists, he devised a basic overdubbing technique using two tape recorders. “Snaketime Rhythms” was Moondog’s first release. Out busking, Moondog was frequently asked to move on, but Gabriel Oller, the owner of the Spanish Music Center record store near Moondog’s favourite pitch, heard something special in his music and recorded him for his SMC Pro-Arte label. He slept rough in midtown Manhattan for the first few months, until an acquaintance offered him the back room of a shop to live in. Moondog lived in New York until 1974, when he relocated to Germany. Snaketime Rhythms Part 1 (5 Beat) / Part 2 (7 Beat) Sometimes called the founder of minimalism, Moondog rejected all labels and said he just played “Moondog music.” Moondog’s life in music was sparked by the Native American dance ceremonies which his father took him to as a child, and echoes of Native American drumming are often heard in his recordings. He adopted the name Moondog and his Viking dress style after moving to New York in 1943. Born Louis Thomas Hardin in Kansas in 1916, he was blinded in a farm accident aged 16 and was largely self-taught as a musician. Championed by an assortment of stars including Frank Zappa, Igor Stravinsky, Charlie Parker, Janis Joplin, Arturo Toscanini, Benny Goodman, Philip Glass, Lester Young and Woody Herman, he chose to work as a street busker for most of his life, and his five decades as a recording artist were mainly spent on tiny independent labels. Moondog was the ultimate outsider of 20th century music. Now, with a landmark documentary on his life receiving unprecedented support on Kickstarter, we profile the extraordinary story of Moondog through his ten most important records. He was Moondog, the most unique artist of his generation. Surrounded by high profile admirers he released countless records and starred in feature films. A totemic guardian planted firmly in the midtown throng, he kept a blind watch over the many vices of the big smoke, selling poetry and playing home-made instruments. For over 30 years he stood, in viking garb, on the corner of Manhattan’s 6th Avenue and 54th street.
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