Folksinger, Songwriter. He is probably best remembered for his song "If I Were a Carpenter" that became a Top 10 hit for singer Bobby Darin in 1966, a Top 20 hit for the Motown group The Four Tops in 1968, and a duet by Johnny Cash and June Carter that reached Number 2 on the Country charts in 1970. Born as James Timothy Hardin in Eugene, Oregon he attended South Eugene High School but dropped out at age of 18 to join the US Marine Corps. He was discharged in 1961 and moved to New York City, New York where he briefly attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After his dismissal for truancy, he began to focus on his musical career by performing around Greenwich Village, mostly in a blues style. In 1963 he relocated to Boston, Massachusetts where he met record producer Erik Jacobsen who got him signed to a recording contract with Columbia Records which didn't pan out and in 1964 he returned to Greenwich Village. The following year he moved to Los Angeles, California where he met actress Susan Yardley and they soon returned to New York City. He then signed to the Verve Forecast label and produced his debut album, "Tim Hardin 1" in 1966 which contained "Reason To Believe" and the ballad "Misty Roses" and they received Top 40 radio play. In 1967 "Tim Hardin 2" was released which contained "If I Were a Carpenter." From 1967 to 1968 he released three other albums, including "Tim Hardin 3" and "Tim Hardin 4" and in 1969 he performed at the Woodstock music festival, resigned by Columbia and released a single of Bobby Darin's "Simple Song of Freedom" that reached the US Top 50, as well as three additional albums, "Suite for Susan Moore and Damion: We Are One, One, All in One" (1969), "Bird on a Wire" (1971), and "Painted Head" (1972). During the following years he moved between England and the US. His heroin addiction had taken control of his life by the time his last album, "Nine," was released on GM Records in England in 1973, released in the US on Antilles Records in 1976. He died from a heroin overdose in Los Angeles, California at the age of 39. His song "Don't Make Promises" from his debut album was recorded by artists Helen Reddy, Three Dog Night, Bobby Darin, The Kingston Trio, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, and Ricky Nelson and his song "Reason to Believe," also from his debut album, was popularized by The Carpenters and Rod Stewart and was also recorded by artists Johnny Cash, The Youngbloods, Cher, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, Marianne Faithfull, Bobby Darin, Glen Campbell, The Kingston Trio, Mason Williams, and The Sandpipers.