John P. Hammond

John P. Hammond

Hammond performing at the Cactus Cafe, Austin, Texas, 2008
Background information
Birth name John Paul Hammond
Born (1942-11-13) November 13, 1942
New York City
Genres Blues, rock, barrelhouse
Occupation(s) Musician, singer
Instruments Vocals, guitar, harmonica
Years active 1962–present
Labels Vanguard, Water Music, Columbia, Rounder, Flying Fish, Point Blank, Back Porch, Chesky, Palmetto
Website www.johnhammond.com

John Paul Hammond (born November 13, 1942, New York City) is an American blues singer and guitarist. The son of record producer John H. Hammond, he is sometimes referred to as John Hammond, Jr..

Background

Hammond is a son of the famed record producer and talent scout John Henry Hammond, Jr. and his first wife, Jemison McBride, an actress. He is a descendant of Cornelius Vanderbilt, the patriarch of the prominent Vanderbilt family.[1] 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. 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, Eric Clapton, the Hawks (later known as the Band), Dr. John 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 label. 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, Roosevelt Sykes, Duane Allman, Willy Deville, Robbie Robertson, 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 Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix in his band at the same time, if only for five days in the 1960s, when Hammond played the Gaslight Cafe in New York City.[2] 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.[3]

Hammond performing in the 1980s

Hammond hosted the 1991 UK television documentary The Search for Robert Johnson, detailing the life of the legendary Delta bluesman 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. It included a Mick Jagger and Keith Richards song, "The Spider and the Fly".

His 2009 album, entitled Rough and Tough, was a 2010 nominee for the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.[4]

In 2011, Hammond was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame of the Blues Foundation.[5]

Personal life

Hammond married his first wife, Dana McDevitt, a daughter of John Burke McDevitt, on October 21, 1967.[6] They later divorced.

In 1991, Hammond married his second wife, Marla.[7]

Discography

See also

References

  1. ↑ Prial, Dunstan (2007). The Producer: John Hammond and the Soul of American Music. Macmillan. pp. 5–10, 186. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
  2. ↑ Forman, Bill (January 28, 2010). "Tangled up in blues: John Hammond recalls his meetings with Clapton, Hendrix, Dylan and Waits". Colorado Springs Independent.
  3. ↑ Heylin, Clinton (2003). Behind the Shades Revisited. New York: HarperCollins. pp. 173–174. ISBN 0-06-052569-X.
  4. ↑ Simon, Scott (February 17, 2007). "John Hammond, Writing the Blues" (Flash streaming audio). Weekend Edition Saturday. NPR.org.
  5. ↑ Inductees Archived March 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.. Blues Hall of Fame, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Dana McDevitt Is Bride", The New York Times. October 22, 1967. (subscription required)
  7. ↑ "John Hammond Jr., Artist Interview". BarnesAndNoble.com. February 10, 2003.
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