John Paul Hammond (born November 13, 1942 in New York City) is an American singer and musician. The son of record producer

John H. Hammond John Henry Hammond II (December 15, 1910 – July 10, 1987) was an American record producer, civil rights activist, and music critic active from the 1930s to the early 1980s. In his service as a talent scout, Hammond became one of the most infl ...

, he is sometimes referred to as John Hammond Jr.

Background

Hammond is a son of record producer and talent scout

and his first wife, Jemison McBride, an actress. He is a descendant of Cornelius Vanderbilt, the patriarch of the prominent Vanderbilt family, through his paternal grandmother Emily Vanderbilt Sloane Hammond. He has a brother, Jason, and a stepsister, (Esme) Rosita Sarnoff, the daughter of his father's second wife, Esme O'Brien Sarnoff. Hammond's middle name, Paul, is in honor of a friend of his father, the actor Paul Robeson. The younger Hammond was raised by his mother and saw his father only a few times a year while growing up. He began playing guitar in high school, partially inspired by the album ''

Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall ''Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall'' is a double album by Jimmy Reed, released in 1961. Though the title suggests that the record was recorded live, it consists of studio recreations of a Carnegie Hall performance along with additional studio recordin ...

''. He attended Antioch College for one year but dropped out to pursue a music career. By the mid-1960s he was touring nationally and living in Greenwich Village. He befriended and recorded with many electric blues musicians in New York, including

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. H ...

's New Hawks (later known as the Band), Mike Bloomfield,

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from t ...

, and Duane Allman.

Career

Hammond usually plays acoustically, choosing National Reso-Phonic Guitars, and sings in a barrelhouse style. Since 1962, when he made his debut on Vanguard Records, he has made thirty-four albums. In the 1990s he began recording on the

Point Blank Records Point Blank Records is a record label subsidiary of Virgin Records. Point Blank Records was founded in 1988 by John Wooler. Wooler served as Deputy Head of A&R at Virgin Records UK from 1984 to 1994 and Senior Vice President of Virgin Reco ...

label. His 1963 debut album, ''John Hammond'', was one of the first blues albums by a white artist. Hammond has earned one Grammy Award and been nominated for four others. He also provided the soundtrack for the 1970 film '' Little Big Man'', starring Dustin Hoffman. Although critically acclaimed, Hammond has received only moderate commercial success. Nonetheless, he enjoys a strong fan base and has earned respect from

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

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, Duane Allman, Rory Gallagher, Willy Deville,

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, Mike Bloomfield and Charlie Musselwhite, all of whom have contributed their musical talents to his records. In addition, he is the only person who ever had both

and

in his band at the same time, if only for five days in the 1960s, when Hammond played

The Gaslight Cafe The Gaslight Cafe was a coffeehouse in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York. Also known as The Village Gaslight, it opened in 1958 and became notable as a venue for folk music and other musical acts.Al AronowitzThe Gaslight, ...

in New York City. To his regret, they never recorded together. It has been suggested that Hammond deserves some credit for helping boost The Band to wider recognition. He recorded with several members of The Band in 1965 and recommended them to Bob Dylan, with whom they undertook a famed and tumultuous world tour. John Hammond JR

Hammond hosted the 1991 UK television documentary ''

The Search for Robert Johnson ''The Search for Robert Johnson'' is a 1992 British television documentary film about the American Delta blues musician Robert Johnson, hosted by John Hammond, and produced and directed by Chris Hunt. In the film, Hammond journeys through the Am ...

'', detailing the life of the legendary

Delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...

man Robert Johnson. Hammond has had a longstanding friendship with the songwriter Tom Waits and has performed Waits' songs on occasion. In 2001, he released ''Wicked Grin'', an album consisting entirely of Waits compositions, with one exception, the traditional spiritual, "I Know I've Been Changed". Waits played guitar and sang backing vocals on the album and was also its producer. In 2003, he released ''Ready for Love'', produced by David Hidalgo of

Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") are an American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cumbia, ...

. It included a Mick Jagger and Keith Richards song, " The Spider and the Fly". His 2009 album, entitled ''Rough & Tough'', was a 2010 nominee for the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. In 2011, Hammond was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame of the Blues Foundation.

Personal life

Hammond married his first wife, Dana McDevitt, a daughter of John Burke McDevitt, on October 21, 1967. They later divorced. In 1991, Hammond married his second wife, Marla.

Discography

* 1963 ''John Hammond'' ( Vanguard) * 1964 ''Big City Blues'' (Vanguard) – includes the first blues-rock cover of Willie Dixon's " Back Door Man", later made famous by the Doors. * 1964 ''Country Blues'' (Vanguard) * 1965 '' So Many Roads'' (Vanguard) * 1967 ''Mirrors'' (Vanguard) – reissued on Real Gone Music in 2016. * 1967 ''I Can Tell'' ( Atlantic) * 1968 ''Sooner or Later'' (Atlantic) – reissued on Water Music in 2002. * 1969 ''Southern Fried'' (Atlantic) – reissued on Water Music in 2002. * 1970 ''The Best of John Hammond'' (Vanguard) compilation * 1971 ''Source Point'' (

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

) * 1971 ''Little Big Man / Original Soundtrack'' (Columbia) * 1972 ''I'm Satisfied'' (Columbia) * 1973 '' Triumvirate'' – with Mike Bloomfield and

(Columbia) * 1975 ''Can't Beat the Kid'' ( Capricorn) – reissued on Polygram in 1997. * 1976 ''John Hammond: Solo'' ive(Vanguard) * 1978 ''Footwork'' (Vanguard) * 1979 ''Hot Tracks'' – with The Nighthawks (Vanguard) * 1980 ''Mileage'' (

Rounder Rounder(s) or The Rounder(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Rounders'' (1914 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounder'' (1930 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounders'' (1965 film), a western comedy * ''Rounders'' (film), a 1998 poker f ...

) * 1982 ''Frogs for Snakes'' (Rounder) * 1983 ''John Hammond Live'' (Rounder) * 1984 ''Spoonful'' (Edsel) – compilation * 1988 ''Nobody but You'' ( Flying Fish) – reissued on Point Blank/Virgin in 1996. * 1992 ''Got Love if You Want It'' ( Point Blank/Virgin) * 1993 ''You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover'' (Vanguard) – compilation * 1994 ''Trouble No More'' (Point Blank/Virgin) * 1996 ''Found True Love'' (Point Blank/Virgin) * 1998 ''Long As I Have You'' (Point Blank/Virgin) * 2000 ''The Best of the Vanguard Years'' (Vanguard) – compilation * 2001 ''

Wicked Grin ''Wicked Grin'' is the twenty-eighth studio album from blues singer John P. Hammond. The album is a collection of songs written by Hammond's friend Tom Waits, who produced the project. It was released in March 2001 under Pointblank Records. ...

'' (Point Blank/Virgin) * 2003 ''At the Crossroads: The Blues of Robert Johnson'' (Vanguard) – compilation * 2003 ''Ready for Love'' ( Back Porch/Narada) * 2005 ''In Your Arms Again'' (Back Porch/Narada) * 2006 ''Live in Greece'' ec. 1983( Dynamic/MSI) * 2007 ''Push Comes to Shove'' (Back Porch/Narada) * 2009 ''Rough & Tough'' ( Chesky) * 2014 ''Timeless'' ive(

Palmetto Palmetto (meaning "little palm") may refer to: Palms Several small palms in the Arecaceae (palm tree) family: *in the genus '' Sabal'': **Bermuda palmetto, ''Sabal bermudana'' **Birmingham palmetto, ''Sabal'' 'Birmingham' **Dwarf, or bush palm ...

) * 2019 "You Know That's Cold" b/w "Come To Find Out" ranslucent Blue 7" Single(Need To Know) * 2020 "My Baby Loves To Boogie" and "Told You Once In August" (featuring Rory Block) with Dion from '' Blues with Friends''

References

External links

John Hammond Biography, Live Performance Video, Interview

Official website for John Hammond

*

2007 Interview with NPR's Scott Simon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, John P. 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers 1942 births American blues guitarists American blues harmonica players American blues singers American male guitarists American people of Dutch descent Antioch College alumni Chesky Records artists Contemporary blues musicians Grammy Award winners Guitarists from New York City Living people Palmetto Records artists Singers from New York City Slide guitarists John Paul Hammond