| recordings |
|---|
| 1928-05-10 | John Hardy Was a Desperate Little Man | | The Carter Family | 2:56 |
| 1941-01-15 | John Hardy | | Duke Ellington & His Orchestra | 2:23 |
| 1961-12-04 | John Hardy | | Bill Monroe | 2:42 |
| 1962 | John Hardy | instrumental and live | The Dillards | 1:41 |
| 1964-01-10 | John Hardy / Closing Theme | live | Jerry Garcia | 1:26 |
| 1971 | John Hardy | | High Country | 2:31 |
| 1983 | John Hardy | | Tony Rice | 3:27 |
| 1987-06 | John Hardy | cover | Bob Dylan & Grateful Dead | 3:20 |
| 1987-06 | John Hardy (John Hardy Was a Desperate Man) | cover | Grateful Dead & Bob Dylan | ?:?? |
| 1987-06 | John Hardy (John Hardy Was a Desperate Man) | cover | Grateful Dead & Bob Dylan | ?:?? |
| John Hardy | | Mike Seeger | 2:45 |
| John Hardy | cover | Joni Mitchell | 2:25 |
| John Hardy | cover | Bobby Bare | 4:22 |
| John Hardy | | Martin Simpson | 3:45 |
| John Hardy | | Dink Roberts | 1:07 |
| John Hardy | | George Thorogood & the Destroyers | 3:29 |
| John Hardy | live | Bob Paisley and the Southern Grass | 2:49 |
| John Hardy | instrumental | Alan Munde | 3:09 |
| John Hardy | live | Norman Blake | 5:41 |
| John Hardy | cover | Joan Baez | 3:04 |
| John Hardy | | Silver Apples | 2:24 |
| John Hardy | cover | Buell Kazee | 2:37 |
| John Hardy | instrumental | Tom Adams | 3:20 |
| John Hardy (live at The Half Beat, Yorkville, Toronto, Canada, 10/21/1964) | cover and live | Joni Mitchell | 3:04 |
| John Hardy Was a Desperate Little Man | | Petra Haden and Bill Frisell | 2:41 |
