Cliff Eberhardt

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Cliff Eberhardt is an American folk singer/songwriter who currently lives in the Pioneer Valley, in Massachusetts. His songs have been covered by Richie Havens, Buffy St. Marie, Erasure, Lucy Kaplansky and Cry Cry Cry. His albums have appeared on Shanachie Records, Windham Hill, and Red House Records.

[edit] Biography

Cliff Eberhardt knew by age seven that he was going to be a singer and songwriter. As a child Cliff taught himself to play guitar, piano, base and drums. In his teens Eberhardt was fortunate enough to live close to one of the best folk clubs on the East Coast, the Main Point. He cut his teeth listening to the likes of James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Bonnie Raitt, and Mississippi John Hurt. At the same time, he was listening to great pop songwriters like Cole Porter, Ira Gershwin and George Gershwin, and Rodgers and Hart, which explain his appetite for great melodies and clever lyrical twists.

At fifteen, Cliff and his brother Geoff began touring as an acoustic duo, playing the Eastern club circuit until Cliff turned twenty-one and moved to Carbondale, Illinois. There he developed his own voice within a vibrant, supportive music scene that included Shawn Colvin. After a couple of years there and a short stay in Colorado, Cliff moved to New York in 1978.

Because the clubs were great (the Bitter End, the Speakeasy, Kenny’s Castaway, Folk City) and the company amazing (John Gorka, Suzanne Vega, Lucy Kaplansky, Julie Gold, Steve Forbert, Christine Lavin, and Shawn Colvin), New York was an ideal musician’s boot camp. Though he put in long hours as a taxi driver, Cliff worked steadily on his music throughout the 80’s, doing solo gigs and studio work, and playing guitar on the road with Richie Havens, Melanie (Melanie Safka) and others. Singing advertising jingles for products like Coke, Miller Beer and Chevrolet (“The Heartbeat of America”) let him to devote more time to songwriting.

In 1989 Cliff’s song "My Father’s Shoes", appeared on Windham Hill’s Legacy collection, leading to a deal with the label. Windham Hill released Cliff’s first album, The Long Road (1990), which featured a duet with Richie Havens. The critical response to this debut was outstanding. He followed with two more records on Windham Hill before releasing 12 Songs of Good and Evil (1997) on Red House Records, which stemmed from a chance meeting with Red House founder Bob Feldman at John Gorka’s wedding. Since then, Cliff has released three albums on the label, including his latest The High Above and the Down Below, recorded in Minneapolis with noted jazz players Gordon Johnson, J. T. Bates, and Richard Dworsky.

Long one of the most respected songwriters on the club scene, Cliff's peers often mine his catalog for themselves. His song "Memphis" was included on Cry Cry Cry, an album of collaborative covers by the "folk supergroup" of the same name (comprised of Dar Williams, Lucy Kaplansky and Richard Shindell). Other performers who have recorded his songs include Richie Havens, Shawn Colvin, Russ Taff, and Buffy Sainte Marie. A collection of his songs has been published in The Cliff Eberhardt Songbook (Cherry Lane Publishing).