Steve Hardin
| Steve Hardin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Steve Hardin |
| Born | 27 October 1946 |
| Origin | Bartlesville, Oklahoma, USA |
| Genres | Country, Rock, Blues, Reggae |
| Instruments | Keyboards, Harmonica, Clavinet |
| Associated acts | Point Blank, Steppenwolf, Glen Campbell |
Steve Hardin is an American songwriter, keyboardist, and harmonica and clavinet player. He is probably best known as the writer of top-ten country hits "I Love My Truck" (#10, Glen Campbell) and "Breakin' Down" (#10, Waylon Jennings), although his diverse career has included performing tours with Point Blank, Glen Campbell and Steppenwolf; a seven-year gig in a south Florida Reggae band; and a solo CD with backup vocals by Gretchen Wilson.
History
Steve played in bands in Dallas, Oklahoma City and Tulsa in the late 60's and early 70's before joining Point Blank as a keyboard man in 1977. The band's next album release, Airplay, including Steve's composition "Mean to Your Queenie", which would become the band's trademark concert theme song. To this day, Point Blank performs the hard-driving rock piece in every performance.
Hardin met John Kay when Steppenwolf was opening for Point Blank in a venue in west Texas, and Kay offered Steve a keyboard job with Steppenwolf. Steve accepted, and spent the rest of the year touring with the band.
While back in L.A. with Steppenwolf, Hardin learned that Glen Campbell was wanting to hire a full-time writer for his records, tours, and T.V. performances. He interviewed, got the job, and spent the next five years working with Glen writing songs (using the name Joe Rainey), touring, and performing on The Glen Campbell Music Show.
After working with Glen, Steve started hanging out at Nashville's Hall of Fame Club, and he met and married Tulsa country music singer Gus Hardin. He stayed with Gus and her band for about a year before striking out for south Florida, where he spent the next seven years playing Reggae.
From there he moved on to Nashville's The Bourbon Street Club, and helped to form the house band for the venue, Blues-U-Can-Use. It was there that he met Gretchen Wilson, then in her early 20s, who sat in with the band for two songs every night. Because she sang so well, he asked her to sing back-up for him on his solo album, Rythmgypsy.
Albums/CDs
- Point Blank - "Airplay"
- 2 albums w/Tanya Tucker
- 3 albums w/Glen Campbell
- "Cheryl Dilcher" album w/ Lowell George
- "Rhythmgypsy" solo album
Original Songs
Not by any means a comprehensive list, here are some highlights:
| Year | Song | Artist/Group | Chart Positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country[1] | US[1] | CAN Country[2][3] | ||||
| 1979 | "Mean To Your Queenie" | Point Blank | — | — | — | Airplay |
| "Shine On" | — | — | — | |||
| "Danger Zone" | — | — | — | |||
| 1980 | "Somebody Trying to Tell You Something" | Tanya Tucker | — | — | — | Dreamlovers |
| "My Song" | — | — | — | |||
| 1981 | "Rollin'" (Joe Rainey, Jack Tempchin) | Glen Campbell | — | — | — | It's the World Gone Crazy |
| "It's Your World" | — | — | — | |||
| "I Love My Truck" | 10 | 94 | 39 | The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia soundtrack | ||
| "Heartache #3" | Tanya Tucker | — | — | — | Should I Do It | |
| "Rodeo Girls" (Joe Rainey, Tanya Tucker) | 83 | — | — | |||
| 1982 | "Hang On Baby (Ease My Mind)" (Joe Rainey, Dan Rogers) | Glen Campbell | — | — | — | Old Home Town |
| "A Few Good Men" | — | — | — | |||
| 1983 | "Breakin' Down" | Waylon Jennings | 10 | — | 4 | It's Only Rock + Roll |
| 1991 | "A Few Good Men" | Glen Campbell | — | — | — | Show Me Your Way |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Glen Campbell singles chart positions Allmusic; retrieved 1-1-11.
- ↑ RPM Country Tracks Glen Campbell - I Love My Truck retrieved 1-2-10.
- ↑ RPM Country Tracks Waylon Jennings - Breakin Down retrieved 1-2-10.
- The Current (www.currentland.com) - Vol. 7, No. 8, August 2010
- Nashville Music Networking - Issue 11, August 1996