Stephen Joseph Hardin (October 27, 1946 – June 28, 2015) was an American songwriter, keyboardist, and harmonica and clavinet player. He was probably best known as the writer of top-ten country hits "I Love My Truck" (#10,

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

) and "Breakin' Down" (#10,

Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...

), although his diverse career included performing tours with

Point Blank Point-blank range is any distance over which a certain firearm or gun can hit a target without the need to elevate the barrel to compensate for bullet drop, i.e. the gun can be pointed horizontally at the target. For targets beyond-blank range ...

and Steppenwolf; a seven-year gig in a south Florida Reggae band; and a solo CD with backup vocals by

Gretchen Wilson Gretchen Frances Wilson (born June 26, 1973, in Pocahontas, Illinois) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She made her debut in March 2004 with the Grammy Awards, Grammy Award-winning single "Redneck Woman", a number-one hit on th ...

History

Hardin played in bands in Dallas, Oklahoma City and Tulsa in the late 1960s and early 1970s before joining

as a keyboard man in 1977. The band's next album release, ''Airplay'', including his composition "Mean to Your Queenie", which would become the band's trademark concert theme song. Hardin met John Kay when Steppenwolf was opening for Point Blank in a venue in west Texas, and Kay offered Hardin a keyboard job with Steppenwolf. Hardin accepted, and spent the rest of the year touring with the band. While back in L.A. with Steppenwolf, Hardin learned that

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 Campbell writing songs (using the name Joe Rainey), touring, and performing on

The Glen Campbell Music Show ''The Glen Campbell Music Show'' was a syndicated US music television series presented by singer/guitarist Glen Campbell. In 1981 a pilot episode was broadcast. The regular series which followed ran for one season, from September 1982 until 1983 ...

. After working with Campbell, Hardin started hanging out at Nashville's Hall of Fame Club, and he met and married Tulsa country music singer

Gus Hardin Gus Hardin (born Carolyn Ann Blankenship; April 9, 1945 – February 17, 1996) was a country music singer. She recorded for RCA Records between 1983 and 1986, releasing two albums and one extended play. In addition to these, she had a hit single ...

. 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 Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar, where he was the keyboardist for

Stacy Mitchhart Stacy Mitchhart (born February 16, 1959) is an American blues guitarist. Mitchhart began his professional career in Cincinnati, Ohio, playing the club circuit there and gaining widespread attention in the early 1990s. In 1996, he moved to Nashv ...

and Blues-U-Can-Use. Hardin died on June 28, 2015.

Albums/CDs

* Point Blank - "Airplay" * 2 albums w/

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. During her career Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature into adulthood ...

* 3 albums w/

* "Cheryl Dilcher" album w/

Lowell George Lowell Thomas George (April 13, 1945 – June 29, 1979) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He was the primary guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the rock band Little Feat. Before forming Little ...

* "Rhythmgypsy" solo album

Original songs

References

* ''The Current''
www.currentland.com
- Vol. 7, No. 8, August 2010 * ''Nashville Music Networking'' - Issue 11, August 1996 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hardin, Steve 1946 births 2015 deaths American male songwriters American keyboardists