John Hammond (b. November 13,
1942) has spent some 40 years making acoustic blues music. A
W.C. Handy award winner who in 1994, 1995 and 1996, Hammond has shared the stage and or recorded with many of the masters, including
Muddy Waters,
Willie Dixon,
John Lee Hooker and
Howlin' Wolf. Hammond has recorded over twenty five albums hosted the
BRAVO TV special and
Sony Home Video,
The Search for Robert Johnson.
I saw Hammond last night here in Torino. He played a club called Zoo Bar (which is normally a disco) for a very small audience of about 150 people. He had a great sound and played the harmonica and acoustic guitar. He covered several Tom Waits' songs including Gun Street Girl and Get Behind the Mule. He also played several Robert johnson songs including Little Queen of Spades and Hellhound on My Trail. It was an intense performance by a master of the form. I was suprized at how down to earth Hammond came across. It was his 59th birthday he said and he seemed to be quite happy to be onstage sharing it with us.
Discography
2001 Wicked Grin (Produced by Tom Waits, featuring 12 Waits-penned tunes) - Tom Waits: "Kathleen Brennan and I wrote one fresh song for John - 'Fannin Street,' which he does like Hank Williams."
1998 Long As I Have You
1996 Found True Love (Grammy Nominee)
1993 Trouble No More (Grammy Nominee)
1993 You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover
1992 Got Love If You Want It (Grammy Nominee)
1992 I Can Tell
1988 Nobody But You
1987 John Hammond
1984 John Hammond Live In Greece
1984 Spoonful
1983 John Hammond Live
1982 Frogs For Snakes
1980 Mileage
1979 Hot Tracks
1978 Footwork
1976 John Hammond Solo
1975 Can't Beat The Kid
1973 Triumvirate
1972 I'm Satisfied
1971 Little Big Man Original Soundtrack (All music composed and performed by Hammond)
1970 Source Point
1970 The Best Of John Hammond
1969 Southern Fried (With guest Duane Allman)
1968 Sooner Or Later
1967 I Can Tell
1967 Mirrors
1965 So Many Roads
1964 Country Blues
1964 Big City Blues
1962 John Hammond