“BIG” JOHN HARTE – Rock ’N Roll’s Premier Concert Security Man and Bodyguard Passes Away aged 70
Written by Johnson Stephen on February 16, 2022
“Big” John Harte, longtime bodyguard for iconic music artists including Kiss, Iron Maiden and Billy Idol has passed away. He was 70 years old.
Born John Joseph Harte III in Newark, NJ on November 15, 1951, he was the older of two boys raised in a traditional Irish-Catholic family in nearby Passaic. When Harte’s mother unexpectedly passed away, he helped support his family while dreaming of becoming a famous musician. The rock-and-roll band that Harte played drums and percussion for did not last long, but a chance experience keeping people at bay outside a Grateful Dead concert would change the trajectory of his life.
“I was noticed at that show because I was big, dressed in denim and black, looked tough with my biker’s moustache and could handle a rowdy crowd,” Harte recalled while working on his memoir in 2021 before adding “I soon found myself handling security at Passaic’s Capitol Theater, Jersey City’s Roosevelt Stadium and New York’s Fillmore East for musicians ranging from Gregg Allman to Lou Reed to the New York Dolls. I learned all aspects of the music business ‘ground up’ by ushering guests, tuning instruments for performers and doing whatever was needed to ensure a concert ran smoothly.”
Harte’s co-author Robert V. Conte says “John and I spoke often over the past few years, developing his book and I promised his memoir would be published no matter what. Despite his terrible loss, I will keep that promise.”
Harte’s memoir will be completed and published posthumously in 2023.
Those wishing to leave their remembrances with “Big” John Harte may do so on his social media page: https://www.facebook.com/
