John Hammond
Hammond is a son of record producer and talent scout John H. Hammond 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.[3] 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, Levon Helm's New Hawks (later known as the Band), Mike Bloomfield, Dr. John, and Duane Allman.
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, Levon Helm's New Hawks (later known as the Band), Mike Bloomfield, Dr. John, and Duane Allman.
My Moment with John Hammond
ror a while Teo Leyasmeyer, in his post HOB days, was booking shows along with Fred Taylor at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, MA. On one such occasion Teo invited me to hang out after sound check. The artist that night was John Hammond, who had always been high on my list of favorites in any genre, and an artist I tried to see at every opportunity.
They were still setting the stage when I got there, and Teo asked if I had ever met John. "Come on, let's go say hi". At the time the theater was using the basement as a dressing room/artist hangout. We went downstairs and John was warming up with his National Steel, explaining that his hands had a bit of arthritis and that it took a while to get them show ready.After a brief but formal introduction Teo stepped away to take care of business. [A note about Teo... he had this ability to put me into situations that he knew I'd cherish forever. For example, he had me drive Luther Allison and his band to the show one night, and another time he had me take Philip Walker's band to dinner at Bob the Chefs for dinner. This moment with John Hammond is another in a sizeable list of magical musical memories] John told me to stay if chose to, while he played his guitar. As a guy who really likes to take pictures/make images, I first had the inclination to run upstairs and grab my camera. But not wanting to interrupt the moment, I opted to stay put. It was just the two of us... in the basement of a dimly lit, musty, nearly 100 year old classic theater. I was treated to twenty or so minutes of John playing the blues to an audience of one, a moment I'll never forget.
They were still setting the stage when I got there, and Teo asked if I had ever met John. "Come on, let's go say hi". At the time the theater was using the basement as a dressing room/artist hangout. We went downstairs and John was warming up with his National Steel, explaining that his hands had a bit of arthritis and that it took a while to get them show ready.After a brief but formal introduction Teo stepped away to take care of business. [A note about Teo... he had this ability to put me into situations that he knew I'd cherish forever. For example, he had me drive Luther Allison and his band to the show one night, and another time he had me take Philip Walker's band to dinner at Bob the Chefs for dinner. This moment with John Hammond is another in a sizeable list of magical musical memories] John told me to stay if chose to, while he played his guitar. As a guy who really likes to take pictures/make images, I first had the inclination to run upstairs and grab my camera. But not wanting to interrupt the moment, I opted to stay put. It was just the two of us... in the basement of a dimly lit, musty, nearly 100 year old classic theater. I was treated to twenty or so minutes of John playing the blues to an audience of one, a moment I'll never forget.