Biography
From childhood, well before he turned ten, Cliff Eberhardt already sensed that life as a performer would suit him perfectly. Growing up in a household filled with music, he joined his parents and brothers in singing and playing instruments even after television had become commonplace. His father gave him his first guitar, which he mastered quickly, while the family’s home near the Main Point Coffee House offered extra lessons through its reputation as one of the East Coast’s premier folk venues. During those formative years he absorbed sounds from an unusually wide range of artists—James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, and Mississippi John Hurt—alongside the classic American songwriters Cole Porter, the Gershwins, and Rodgers & Hart, whose work his parents also favored.
At fifteen, Eberhardt and his brother Geoff began traveling as an acoustic duo. By twenty-one he had settled in Carbondale, IL, where he entered a welcoming local scene that included Shawn Colvin; after a brief period in Colorado he relocated to New York City in 1978. There, during the early 1980s, he joined the second wave of folk and acoustic revival centered on such rooms as Folk City, the Bitter End, Speakeasy, and Kenny’s Castaways. An energetic cluster of emerging talents soon banded together as the Fast Folk Music Cooperative, and among the performers regularly appearing at Lower Manhattan clubs and coffee houses were John Gorka, Suzanne Vega, Lucy Kaplansky, Christine Lavin, Colvin, David Massengill, and Julie Gold.
Eberhardt drove a taxi by day while booking solo appearances and studio sessions on the side, and he supported Richie Havens and Melanie on shorter tours. He also recorded advertising jingles for Coke, Miller Beer, and Chevrolet’s “Heartbeat of America” campaign, which freed additional hours for his own songwriting. His composition “My Father’s Shoes” was selected for a Windham Hill Records anthology, and the connection eventually secured him a contract with the label. Windham Hill issued The Long Road in 1990; the album contained a duet with Richie Havens and established a national touring circuit for Eberhardt. In the early 1990s he placed two releases with New Jersey-based Shanachie Records—Now You Are My Home (1993) and Mona Lisa Cafe (1995)—before moving to Red House Records in 1997.
Eberhardt has remained with the Saint Paul, MN-based Red House imprint since its release of 12 Songs of Good and Evil that same year. The association began when founder Bob Feldman met him at fellow folk singer John Gorka’s wedding. He continued with equally strong collections of original folk and blues material: Borders in 1999 and School for Love in 2002.
A serious car accident late in 2002 interrupted his work for several years, requiring two back surgeries and an extended period of physical therapy, yet he returned in 2007 with The High Above and the Down Below. He recorded 500 Miles: The Blue Rock Sessions for Red House Records in 2009, followed by All Wood and Doors in 2011. Alongside John Hammond and Richie Havens, Eberhardt keeps the flame of both traditional and contemporary folk music alive through powerful live performances. Whether appearing solo or with a small band, his guitar work, vocals, and original songs deliver an emotionally charged concert experience that blends introspection with intensity.
At fifteen, Eberhardt and his brother Geoff began traveling as an acoustic duo. By twenty-one he had settled in Carbondale, IL, where he entered a welcoming local scene that included Shawn Colvin; after a brief period in Colorado he relocated to New York City in 1978. There, during the early 1980s, he joined the second wave of folk and acoustic revival centered on such rooms as Folk City, the Bitter End, Speakeasy, and Kenny’s Castaways. An energetic cluster of emerging talents soon banded together as the Fast Folk Music Cooperative, and among the performers regularly appearing at Lower Manhattan clubs and coffee houses were John Gorka, Suzanne Vega, Lucy Kaplansky, Christine Lavin, Colvin, David Massengill, and Julie Gold.
Eberhardt drove a taxi by day while booking solo appearances and studio sessions on the side, and he supported Richie Havens and Melanie on shorter tours. He also recorded advertising jingles for Coke, Miller Beer, and Chevrolet’s “Heartbeat of America” campaign, which freed additional hours for his own songwriting. His composition “My Father’s Shoes” was selected for a Windham Hill Records anthology, and the connection eventually secured him a contract with the label. Windham Hill issued The Long Road in 1990; the album contained a duet with Richie Havens and established a national touring circuit for Eberhardt. In the early 1990s he placed two releases with New Jersey-based Shanachie Records—Now You Are My Home (1993) and Mona Lisa Cafe (1995)—before moving to Red House Records in 1997.
Eberhardt has remained with the Saint Paul, MN-based Red House imprint since its release of 12 Songs of Good and Evil that same year. The association began when founder Bob Feldman met him at fellow folk singer John Gorka’s wedding. He continued with equally strong collections of original folk and blues material: Borders in 1999 and School for Love in 2002.
A serious car accident late in 2002 interrupted his work for several years, requiring two back surgeries and an extended period of physical therapy, yet he returned in 2007 with The High Above and the Down Below. He recorded 500 Miles: The Blue Rock Sessions for Red House Records in 2009, followed by All Wood and Doors in 2011. Alongside John Hammond and Richie Havens, Eberhardt keeps the flame of both traditional and contemporary folk music alive through powerful live performances. Whether appearing solo or with a small band, his guitar work, vocals, and original songs deliver an emotionally charged concert experience that blends introspection with intensity.
Albums
