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Moondog was an American composer, musician, poet, and inventor, renowned for his unique blend of classical, jazz, and minimalist influences, and his distinctive appearance as a blind street performer dressed as a 'Viking' in New York City.Blinded in a farming accident at age 16, Louis Hardin taught himself music via Braille. He moved to New York City in 1943, adopting the name Moondog and performing on the streets for decades in self-made clothing and horned helmet.His music, often composed using self-invented percussion instruments like the 'Trimba', drew inspiration from Native American rhythms, classical counterpoint, and jazz.Despite his outsider status, he gained respect from figures like Leonard Bernstein, Igor Stravinsky, Charlie Parker, and Janis Joplin. In 1974, disillusioned with America, he moved to Germany, where he found greater recognition and orchestral opportunities for his compositions.His work anticipated minimalism and influenced diverse artists like Philip Glass and Steve Reich.

• He adopted the name Moondog in 1947, inspired by a dog that howled at the moon. He fiercely protected this identity, successfully suing a radio disc jockey who used the name commercially in the 1950s.
• His Viking-like appearance (cloak, spear, horned helmet) led to frequent arrests by New York police who mistook him for a vagrant or considered his costume a public disturbance. He saw the attire as symbolic of his independence.
• He invented numerous musical instruments, most famously the 'Trimba' (a triangular percussion instrument), the 'Oo' (a small string instrument), and the 'Yukh' (a triangular harp), integrating them into his compositions and street performances.
• Living largely as a street person in New York (sleeping in doorways or with friends), his life was marked by poverty and hardship, contrasting sharply with the intellectual depth of his music and writings.
• His move to Germany in 1974 was orchestrated by Ilona Sommer, a German student who became his assistant and later manager. This relocation revitalized his career, allowing him to record extensively and work with European orchestras.
• Ironically, his biggest commercial success came posthumously through a sample. His composition 'Bird's Lament' became widely known after being sampled in Mr. Scruff's 1999 electronic hit 'Get a Move On', used in countless ads and films.