Episode 13 – Cliff Eberhardt
Over 10 albums and a career spanning nearly 5 decades, Cliff Eberhardt has established himself as one of acoustic music's best-known voices. Growing up in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, he and his brothers sang together and their parents played instruments. Cliff and his brother Geoff toured as an acoustic duo for a few years, until Cliff turned twenty-one and moved to Carbondale, Illinois. There he found space to develop his own voice within a vibrant and supportive music scene that included Shawn Colvin. In 1978, Cliff moved to New York City. 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.
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 and others. Singing advertising jingles for products like Coke, Miller Beer and Chevrolet ("The Heartbeat of America" campaign) allowed him to devote more time to his songwriting.
In 1990, Windham Hill released Cliff's first album, The Long Road (1990), featuring a duet with Richie Havens, to great critical acclaim. After two more records on Windham Hill, he released 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. Cliff recorded two more albums before his critically acclaimed The High Above and the Down Below. He continued to record, releasing 500 Miles: The Blue Rock Sessions (2009), Shrew Songs (2012) and The Heal (2019)
Long one of the most respected songwriters on the club scene, his peers often mine his catalog for themselves. Cliff's 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, David Broza/Maura O'Connell and Buffy Sainte Marie. A collection of his songs has been published in The Cliff Eberhardt Songbook (Cherry Lane Publishing).
Cliff is well-known as a songwriting teacher, both at songwriting camps and in private lessons. He also produces, arranges and advises on other artist's recordings. He tours constantly, and we were fortunate enough to snag him en route for an Acoustic Northeast sit-down.
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