Red House recording artist Cliff Eberhardt knew by age seven that he was going to be a singer and songwriter. As a child Cliff taught himself to play guitar, piano, bass and drums. In his teens Eberhardt was fortunate enough to live close to the Main Point (one of the best folk clubs on the East Coast), he cut his teeth listening to the likes of James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Bonnie Raitt, and Mississippi John Hurt — receiving an early and impressive tutorial in acoustic music. At the same time, he was also listening to great pop songwriters like Cole Porter, the Gershwins, and Rodgers and Hart, which explains his penchant for great melodies and clever lyrical twists.
A driving force of the Greenwich Village New Folk movement and well known among his peers, Cliff’s songs have been covered by the likes of Ritchie Havens, Buffie St. Marie, Erasure, Lucy Kaplansky and the folk superstar band “Cry, Cry, Cry” (Dar Williams, Richard Shindell, Lucy Kaplansky).
Eberhardt is a superb singer, with a vast credible range of emotions, and a soulfulness that draws from rock and pop, but also from the best folk ballad styles. The Boston Globe
Eberhardt … couches his ballads in rootsy, folksy arrangements that emphasize his bluesy guitar playing and his soulful, Ray Charles-like vocals. Eberhardt’s melodies, however, are as sophisticated as ever — he is the missing link between Paul McCartney and Cole Porter. Seth Rogovoy, Berkshires Week