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John Hammond

13 November 1942 - 28 February 2026

Born in New York City on November 13, 1942, he was the
son of legendary Columbia Records producer John Henry
Hammond Jr., the talent scout who discovered Billie
Holiday, Count Basie, Bob Dylan, and Bruce

Springsteen, and was the producer of the two
Spirituals to Swing events held in Carnegie Hall, NY,
in 1938 and 1939.

A key figure in the Greenwich Village blues boom, the
musician released his debut album in 1963 – self-

titled, “John Hammond” was, it is clamed, the first
blues LP by a white musician, and broke fresh
ground in the process.

A hard-hitter on his resonator guitars and a capable
neck-rack harmonica player, Hammond threw himself
completely into his interpretations of the music of the

greats of the blues world.

He recorded more than 30 albums across multiple
record labels,John Hamm-

ond received a Grammy
Award in 1985 for his
contribution to the

compilation “Blues Explosion” and
earned multiple additional
nominations – including for the
beautiful “Rough and Tough”

(2009) recorded in St Peter's
Episcopal Church, NYC on 17&18
November 2008 and replete with the special acoustics of the building. John also

received eight Blues Music Awards and in 2011 was inducted into the Blues Hall of
Fame.

It is said that, following his parents’ separation and divorce when he was an infant
John Jr was not aware of the groundbreaking work of his father in bringing blues
and jazz to the attention of concert going New Yorkers. He found the blues for
himself and was a lifelong fan of Jimmy Reed after seeing Reed in a live performance.

Hammond died of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Ian K McKenzie