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54-516: The name " moondog " seems to have originated with American musician Louis T. Hardin (1916–1999) who used the nickname from the 1940s. His instrumental song "Moondog Serenade" inspired DJ Alan Freed to use the Moondog moniker in the 1950s until legal action from Hardin resulted in a judgement in Hardin's favor. Had album was used under his name in 1969 called Moondog The Moondog gimmick in wrestling

108-454: A trading post at Fort Bridger . At one point, his father took him to an Arapaho Sun Dance where he sat on the lap of Chief Yellow Calf and played a tom-tom made from buffalo skin . He also played drums for the high school band in Hurley, Missouri . On July 4, 1932, the 16-year-old Hardin found an object in a field which he did not realise was a dynamite cap . While he was handling it,

162-440: A Move On" from his album Keep It Unreal is structured around samples from "Bird's Lament". New York band The Insect Trust play a cover of Moondog's song "Be a Hobo" on their album Hoboken Saturday Night . The track "Stamping Ground", with its preamble of Moondog reciting one of his epigrams , was featured on the sampler double album Fill Your Head with Rock (CBS, 1970). Canadian composer and producer Daniel Lanois included

216-561: A Viking-style horned helmet to avoid the occasional comparisons of his appearance with that of Christ or a monk, as he had rejected Christianity in his late teens. He developed a lifelong interest in Nordic mythology , and maintained an altar to Thor in his country home in Candor. In 1949, he traveled to a Blackfoot Sun Dance in Idaho where he performed on percussion and flute, returning to

270-509: A bow that he called the "hüs" (after the Norwegian hus , meaning ' house ' ), the "dragon's teeth", the "tuji, the "uni", the "utsu", the "hexagonal drums", and the "troubador harp". His best known instrument is the trimba, a triangular percussion instrument that the composer invented in the late 1940s. The original trimba was played by Moondog's friend and only student Stefan Lakatos, a Swedish percussionist, to whom Moondog also explained

324-613: A child, and Latin American music . His strongly rhythmic, contrapuntal pieces and arrangements later influenced composers of minimal music , in particular American composers Steve Reich and Philip Glass . Due to an accident, Moondog was blind from the age of 16. He lived in New York City from the late 1940s until 1972, during which time he was often found on Sixth Avenue , between 52nd and 55th Streets, selling records, composing, and performing poetry. He briefly appeared in

378-547: A cloak and horned helmet during the 1960s and was hence recognized as "the Viking of Sixth Avenue" by passersby and residents who were not aware of his musical career. Hardin was born in Marysville, Kansas , to Louis Thomas Hardin, an Episcopalian minister, and Norma Alves. Hardin started playing a set of drums that he made from a cardboard box at the age of five. His family relocated to Wyoming , where his father opened

432-572: A manager's hair vs hair match with Samples' hair vs Lee's hair on the line. On January 30, 1993, the Moondogs gained another ally in Moondog Splat, who replaced Spike. On March 8, 1993, Brian Christopher teamed with The Big Black Dog to defeat The Moondogs for the tag team title. The Moondogs won it back the next week. Moondog Cujo and Spike replaced Spot and Splat in July 1993. August 1993 saw

486-449: A nod to their previous WWF gimmick. They were managed by Traci Brooks and had three final victories, one over Buck Quartermain and Lex Lovett, one over Trinity 's team Phi Delta Slam and one over the team of Cassidy Riley and Shark Boy. Don Harris effectively retired from the ring in 2005, and began working backstage with TNA as production manager. In the same year, Ron Harris retired from professional wrestling and began working for

540-731: A renewed interest in his music. Eventually, a young German student named Ilona Goebel (later known as Ilona Sommer) helped Moondog set up the primary holding company for his artistic endeavors and hosted him, first in Oer-Erkenschwick , and later on in Münster in Westphalia . Moondog lived with Sommer's family and they spent time together in Münster. During that period, Moondog created hundreds of compositions which were transferred from Braille to sheet music by Sommer. Moondog spent

594-403: A track called "Moondog" on his album/video-documentary Here Is What Is . Between 1970 and 1980, a blind bearded mystic called "Moondog" appeared as the title character in a four issue series of Underground comix written and illustrated by George Metzger . Since the early 1970s, a number of professional wrestlers have been named The Moondogs , taking inspiration from the artist. Moondog

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648-439: A wide variety of styles of music. His first works were immediately inspired by the music of pow wow gatherings that he had attended as a child; as his career progressed, his music encompassed influences from bebop , swing , rumba , modernism and Renaissance music . It was characterized by what he called "snaketime" and described as "a slithery rhythm, in times that are not ordinary [...] I'm not gonna die in 4/4 time". During

702-429: Is credited in "Lullaby", singing to June, their six-week-old daughter. Hardin later fathered another daughter, Lisa Colins, out of wedlock. The Harris Brothers Donald Harris and Ronald Harris (born October 23, 1960) are American twin brothers best known for their professional wrestling careers with promotions including Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and

756-732: The 1995 Royal Rumble and were defeated by Lex Luger and The British Bulldog in the opening match of WrestleMania XI . Jacob Blu competed in the King of the Ring 1995 tournament losing to Razor Ramon in the qualifying round. Following a series of losses to the Smoking Gunns , the Harris Brothers left the WWF in October 1995. They eventually left the WWF and returned to ECW in 1996 as

810-615: The All Japan Pro Wrestling World's Strongest Tag Determination League 2001, an eight-team tag tournament. They defeated The Varsity Club ( Mike Rotunda and Steve Williams ) before losing to Mitsuya Nagai and Toshiaki Kawada in the tournament semi-finals. In June 2002, the Harris Brothers were hired by the upstart Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion, joined Vince Russo 's Sports Entertainment Xtreme faction in December 2002, and remained with

864-640: The Christian music record label Beach Street Records. In 2007 Ron, Don and Frank Miller formed the Nashville-based management company O-Seven Artist Management. They work for Aroluxe, a marketing and production company. In January 2016, TNA hired Aroluxe to pay for its TV tapings. In 2002, the brothers appeared on a TNA PPV wearing shirts with the Nazi SS symbol. They also displayed their SS tattoos (which were later covered up). TNA apologized for

918-650: The Clash of the Legends show in Memphis on April 29, 2007, where he defeated The Barbarian . Moondog Louis Thomas Hardin (May 26, 1916 – September 8, 1999), known professionally as Moondog , was an American composer, musician, performer, music theoretician , poet and inventor of musical instruments. Largely self-taught as a composer, his prolific work widely drew inspiration from jazz , classical , Native American music which he had become familiar with as

972-651: The Continental Wrestling Association in 1983, where they were managed by Jimmy Hart and feuded with The Fabulous Ones . They captured the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship from the Fabs on April 4, 1983, and lost it back to them on April 25, in a no-disqualification match. The feud continued throughout 1983 and ended when The Moondogs lost a leaves town match to the Fabs on January 16, 1984. In October 1987,

1026-895: The ECW Tag Team Championships were held-up after a controversial ending to a match between the Bruise Brothers and the incumbents, The Public Enemy . The Bruise Brothers went on to participate in some of the first ECW hardcore matches, and feuded with Shane Douglas . The Harris Brothers were signed by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in January 1995, where they were renamed "The Blu Brothers", Eli (Ron) and Jacob (Don). They retained their trademark bushy beards and long hair and donned garb to resemble mountain men, and were managed by Uncle Zebekiah . They made their WWF debuts shortly before

1080-641: The Nippon Budokan promoted by the Pro Wrestling Noah promotion. In late 2003, Ron Harris began working for wrestler and burgeoning rap artist Randy Savage as a tour manager . The Harris Brothers were reunited in November 2004 when Savage debuted in TNA and, following a backstage altercation with his rival Hulk Hogan , requested that he be accompanied by two bodyguards at all times. The job

1134-549: The WWF Tag Team Championship . After winning the title, Moondog King was replaced by Moondog Spot after King—a Canadian—was denied entry into the United States in 1981. Rex and Spot's gimmick consisted of them carrying chewed up bones to the ring and wearing cut-off blue jeans. While in the WWF, the Moondogs feuded with Tony Garea , Rick Martel , Bob Backlund , Ivan Putski , Pat Patterson , and

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1188-540: The Wild Samoans . In 1984, on an episode of Maple Leaf Wrestling , Moondog Rex earned a WWF Championship title shot against Hulk Hogan . In 1987, Rex was repackaged as Smash of Demolition , along with Ax . However, fans easily recognized him and gave him chants of "Moondog," leading to him being quickly replaced by Barry Darsow . Rex and Spot then teamed together until 1990 in various promotions. The Moondogs had two runs in Memphis. Their first run took place in

1242-943: The World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). They are now co-presidents of the Nashville -based Aro Lucha professional wrestling promotion. For the majority of their careers, the brothers performed as a tag team . They wrestled under their birth names and a variety of ring names , including Don Bruise and Ron Bruise (the Bruise Brothers); Eli Blu and Jacob Blu (the Blu Twins); Jared Grimm and Jason Grimm (the Grimm Twins); Skull and 8 Ball (the Disciples of Apocalypse); and Patrick and Gerald (Creative Control). Don and Ron Harris were born in Florida . In

1296-681: The nWo 2000 in 2000 using their real names, acting as enforcers for Jeff Jarrett . They remained in WCW throughout 2000, feuding with Sid Vicious , Terry Funk and many of the younger tag teams, such as The Mamalukes . After winning the WCW World Tag Team Championship three times, the Harris Brothers began wrestling in singles matches in 2001, but WCW was purchased by the WWF in March 2001, and they were not hired. In November and December 2001, Don and Ron Harris took part in

1350-628: The "gang wars" of 1997, feuding with the Nation of Domination and the Puerto Rican stable Los Boricuas . They went on to compete in the tag division throughout 1998. They feuded with the Legion Of Doom . 8-Ball also competed in the WWE's Brawl For All tournament on July 20, 1998, but lost to 2 Cold Scorpio in the third round. Their last match in WWF as a tag team was at a house show, which

1404-418: The 1950s, he began to incorporate city sounds such as cars, subway trains, human speech, and foghorns into his work. Moondog invented several musical instruments, some of which were played on studio albums or in live performances by him and his subsequent ensembles. They include the "oo", a small triangular-shaped harp, a larger harp which he named the "ooo-ya-tsu", a triangular stringed instrument played with

1458-510: The 1980s, Ron and Don relocated to Nashville, Tennessee , in order to become professional wrestlers. Ron worked as a police officer in West Palm Beach, Florida , prior to moving to Tennessee with his brother. Don and Ron Harris, with support from the country music group Sawyer Brown , debuted in the Continental Wrestling Association in December 1987 as "The Bruise Brothers", where they became two-time World Tag Team Champions. When

1512-641: The Bruise Brothers, competing once more in the tag division, and briefly joining Raven's Nest . Don and Ron Harris returned to the WWF in September 1996, as the short-lived "Grimm Twins," Jason (Ron) and Jared (Don) where they had matches with the Smoking Gunns and the Godwinns . In June 1997, were repackaged as "8-Ball" (Ron) and "Skull" (Don), members of the Disciples of Apocalypse stable with Crush and their cousin, Chainz . The DOA participated in

1566-558: The CWA became the United States Wrestling Association in 1989, the Bruise Brothers remained in the promotion . Don and Ron won five more Tag Team Championships, with Don winning two additional USWA World Tag Team Championships with Brian Lee and Ron winning an additional USWA World Tag Team Championship with Jimmy Harris (no relation) as "Beauty and The Beast". The Harris Brothers made a final appearance with

1620-564: The Moondogs meet one of their noteworthy rivals, The Dogcatchers, which played off of the Moondogs' name. The teams feuded throughout August and September 1993. From November 1993 to March 1994, the team appeared in Smoky Mountain Wrestling , feuding again with The Harris Brothers and The Rock 'n' Roll Express . Spike and Splat also appeared in W*ING's 1993 Most Dangerous Tag War Tournament, finishing with 0 points. 1994 saw

1674-590: The Moondogs wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling . Moondog Spike and Moondog Spot faced opponents such as Jumbo Tsuruta , Mighty Inoue , Haruka Eigen and Tiger Mask II . In late 1991, The Moondogs returned, this time managed by Richard Lee. Spot and Spike captured the USWA Tag Team Championship on November 30, 1991. In early 1992, The Moondogs gained a new ally in The Big Black Dog, whom they would later feud with. Moondog Cujo

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1728-617: The Native American music he had first come in contact with as a child. It was this Native music, along with contemporary jazz and classical, mixed with the ambient sounds from his environment (city traffic , ocean waves , babies crying, etc.) that created the foundation of Moondog's music. In 1954, he won a case in the New York State Supreme Court against disc jockey Alan Freed , who had branded his radio show, "The Moondog Rock and Roll Matinee", around

1782-708: The USWA in 1996 as "The Grimm Brothers". In 1991, the Bruise Brothers debuted in the Oregon -based National Wrestling Alliance Pacific Northwest promotion, where they became six-time Tag Team Champions. Don Harris was also part of the last match in that promotion's television show, defeating Jon Rambo. On January 27, 1992, the Harris Twins received a tryout match with the WWF at a Wrestling Challenge taping in Lubbock, Texas, defeating Khris Germany and Todd Overbow. They beat

1836-584: The desire to become a composer . After learning the principles of music in several schools for blind young men across middle America, he taught himself the skills of ear training and composition. He studied with Burnet Tuthill at the Iowa School for the Blind . He then moved to Batesville, Arkansas , where he lived until 1942, when he obtained a scholarship to study in Memphis, Tennessee . Although he

1890-1053: The duo again the next night in Amarillo . In March 1993, the Twins worked a few matches for World Championship Wrestling . In 1993, the Harris Brothers joined Smoky Mountain Wrestling as the Bruise Brothers, managed by Jim Cornette . On June 28, Cornette led them to a victory over the Rock 'n' Roll Express, Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson , for the SMW Tag Team Championships. The Bruise Brothers remained in SMW until early 1994, participating in hardcore matches such as Street Fights and steel cage matches . The Bruise Brothers appeared in Extreme Championship Wrestling in 1994. On February 5,

1944-459: The explosive detonated in his face and permanently blinded him. His older sister, Ruth, would read to him daily after the accident for many years. Here he had his first encounters with philosophy, science and myth that formed his character. One book in particular, The First Violin by Jessie Fothergill , inspired him to pursue music. Up to that point he had been interested mainly in percussion instruments, but from then on, he became obsessed with

1998-467: The methods for building such an instrument. Prior to Stefan's passing on February 10 of 2023 he shared his teachings from Moondog with American composer Julian Calv. Moondog's music from the 1940s and '50s has been cited by American composers Philip Glass and Steve Reich as a major influence on their styles, saying they took Moondog's work "very seriously and understood and appreciated it much more than what we were exposed to at Juilliard ". Moondog

2052-402: The name "Moondog", using "Moondog's Symphony" (the first record that Moondog ever cut) as his "calling card". Moondog believed he would not have won the case had it not been for the help of musicians such as Benny Goodman and Arturo Toscanini , who testified that he was a serious composer. Freed had to apologize and stop using the nickname "Moondog" on air, on the basis that Hardin was known by

2106-792: The name long before Freed began using it. Along with his passion for Nordic culture , Moondog had an idealised view of Germany ("The Holy Land with the Holy River" — the Rhine ), where he settled in 1974. Moondog revisited the United States briefly in 1989, for a tribute at the New Music America Festival in Brooklyn, in which festival director Yale Evelev asked him to conduct the Brooklyn Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra , stimulating

2160-591: The remainder of his life in Germany. On 8 September 1999, he died in Münster from heart failure . He is buried at the Central Cemetery Münster. His tomb was designed by the artist Ernst Fuchs after the death mask . He recorded many albums and toured both in the U.S. and in Europe—France, Germany and Sweden. In the process of establishing himself as a composer, Moondog drew inspiration from

2214-567: The song "Rabbit Fighter" with the line "Moondog's just a prophet to the end...". The English pop group Prefab Sprout included the song "Moondog" on their album Jordan: The Comeback released in 1990. Big Brother and the Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin covered his song "All Is Loneliness" on their 1967 self-titled album . The song was also covered by Antony and the Johnsons during their 2005 tour. Mr. Scruff 's single "Get

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2268-565: The stable until it disbanded in mid-2003. On July 19, 2003, Ron Harris appeared in Harley Race 's World League Wrestling promotion, and, in a match refereed by Ricky Steamboat , won the WLW Heavyweight Championship by defeating Ron Powers (he was substituting for Trevor Rhodes , who had been injured earlier that evening). He lost the title on September 12, 2003, to Takeshi Morishima in a Tokyo title defence in

2322-481: The team change again with Spot and a new Moondog Rex taking up the Moondog name until Moondog Rover replaced Rex in 1996, before the team disbanded. In the latter part of 2003, the Moondogs (Spot and Puppy Love) began working in Memphis Wrestling , with April Pennington acting as their manager. On November 29, 2003, Moondog Spot died in the ring during a battle royal in Memphis. Moondog Cujo appeared at

2376-653: Was a loss to Ken Shamrock and Mankind on May 14, 1999. Skull's last match was in a singles match at a house show against Ken Shamrock on May 15, 1999, in which he was defeated. 8-Ball's last match was in a singles match at a house show against Ken Shamrock on May 16, 1999, in which he was also defeated. The brothers were released soon after. In November 1999, the Harris Brothers joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as "Gerald" (Ron) and "Patrick" (Don). The names were shots at Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco who worked for WWF as Vince McMahon 's stooges. They were known collectively as "Creative Control". They went on to join

2430-585: Was added to the group in April 1992, teaming with both Spot and Spike separately. The New Moondogs of Spot and Cujo recaptured USWA Tag Team Championship and traded the title with Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Lawler throughout 1992. During October 1992, The Moondogs gained another ally in Moondog Fifi , who won the USWA Women's Championship from Miss Texas . The feud between Jarrett/Lawler and The Moondogs

2484-558: Was also admired by Charlie Parker , whom he mutually admired and paid tribute to with the piece "Bird's Lament", Frank Zappa and Igor Stravinsky , and met on several occasions with Lenny Bruce , William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg . Moondog inspired other musicians with several songs dedicated to him. These include "Moondog" on Pentangle 's 1968 album Sweet Child and "Spear for Moondog" (parts I and II) by jazz organist Jimmy McGriff on his 1968 Electric Funk album. Glam rock musician Marc Bolan and T. Rex referenced him in

2538-490: Was born in 1973 when Lonnie Mayne became Moondog Mayne in the World Wide Wrestling Federation . He continued using the gimmick in Portland, Texas, California and Georgia. He died in 1978 after an automobile accident. In 1980, Moondog Hawkins wrestled in the WWF, in which the gimmick was short-lived. Hawkins became Moondog Rex. Moondog Rex and Moondog King joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in October 1980, where they defeated Rick Martel and Tony Garea for

2592-451: Was given to Ron Harris and Savage's tour bodyguard, Brian Adams . Savage had his final match in the promotion in a 6-man tag team match with Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles in a victory over Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall on December 5, 2004, then immediately left the company, but the Harris Brothers were retained to act as road agents . In March 2005, the Harris Brothers reappeared onscreen as "The Disciples of Destruction", two bikers as

2646-463: Was largely self-taught in music, learning predominantly by ear, he learned some music theory from books in braille during his time in Memphis. In 1943, Hardin moved to New York, where he met classical musicians including Leonard Bernstein and Arturo Toscanini , as well as jazz performers such as Charlie Parker and Benny Goodman , whose upbeat tempos and often humorous compositions would influence Hardin's later work. One of his early street posts

2700-410: Was married briefly to Virginia Sledge in 1943, but the marriage was dissolved in 1947. In 1952, he married Mary Suzuko Whiteing, a single mother of mixed American-Japanese heritage. She had grown up in Japan then came to New York with her mother that year. Suzuko and Hardin met on the streets of New York. According to his daughter, June, Mary was struck by his appearance and moved by his music; Moondog

2754-429: Was near the 52nd Street nightclub strip, and he was known to jazz musicians. By 1947, Hardin had adopted the name "Moondog" in honor of a dog "who used to howl at the moon more than any dog I knew of." From the late 1940s until 1972, Moondog lived as a composer and poet in New York City, occasionally playing in midtown Manhattan, eventually settling on the corner of 53rd or 54th Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. He

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2808-446: Was rarely if ever homeless, and maintained an apartment in upper Manhattan and had a country retreat in Candor, New York , to which he moved full-time in 1972. He partially supported himself by selling copies of his poetry, sheet music, records, and his musical philosophy. In addition to his music and poetry, he was also known for a distinctive " Viking " garb that he briefly wore during the 1960s. Already bearded and long-haired, he added

2862-413: Was stirred by the sound of her voice. The June 4, 1952 issue of the New York Journal-American features a photograph of Moondog playing a flute on a rooftop while Mary looks on endearingly: the caption indicates it is a "skyline serenade" to a "June bride". The marriage lasted eight years. They had one daughter, June Hardin, born June 1, 1953. On the Prestige (1956) Moondog LP, Moondog's wife, Suzuko

2916-424: Was voted the 1992 PWI Feud of the Year by Pro Wrestling Illustrated . Cujo left the group during September 1992. On December 28, The Moondogs lost the title to The Harris Brothers , managed by Bert Prentice and Mike Samples. The teams traded the belts back and forth until the Moondogs captured them for the last time on February 22, 1993. The feud ended in March 1993, when The Harris Brothers beat The Moondogs in

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