Voting Station

Moondog

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Musician

The Resume

    (May 26, 1916-September 8, 1999)
    Born in Marysville, Kansas
    Birth name was Louis Thomas Hardin
    Street musician in New York City (1943-74)
    Nicknamed the 'Viking of 6th Avenue'
    Settled in Germany
    Recorded the albums 'Moondog and His Friends' (1953), 'Moondog' (1956), 'More Moondog' (1956), 'The Story of Moondog' (1957), 'Tell It Again' (with Julie Andrews, 1957), 'Moondog' (1969), 'Moondog 2' (1971), 'Moondog in Europe' (1977), 'A New Sound of an Old Instrument' (1979), 'Facets' (1981), 'Bracelli' (1986), 'Elpmas' (1992), 'Sax Pax for a Sax' (1994) and 'To a Grain of Rice' (1996)

Why he might be annoying:

    Regardless of the weather, he would wear a homemade robe, sandals and Viking helmet.
    He was married and divorced twice.
    One of his compositions was described as 'a duet for the whistle of the ocean liner the Queen Elizabeth and a bamboo flute.'
    When he was a guest conductor, he would sit to the side of the orchestra and provide the beat on a bass drum since he was 'uncomfortable with being an authority figure.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    At age 16, he was blinded by an accident with a blasting cap.
    The New York Times called him 'as recognizable as the Empire State Building and nearly as striking.'
    He invented new instruments for his compositions.
    He successfully sued Alan Freed for calling his radio show 'The Moondog Rock N Roll Matinee.'
    In that suit, Benny Goodman and Arturo Toscanini attested to his status as a serious composer.
    Philip Glass said he 'took [Moondog's] work very seriously and understood and appreciated it much more than what we were exposed to at Julliard.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 18 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 7.69% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 10 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 19 Votes: 57.89% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 22 Votes: 68.18% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 10 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 30 Votes: 70.0% Annoying