John Hammond: Taking the blues from Antioch to Brazil and beyond

John Hammond: Taking the blues from Antioch to Brazil and beyond
July 9, 2009
By Don Thrasher
Dayton Daily News

lues music, like jazz and rap, is a true American art form, but as John Hammond has discovered, there’s an undeniable universality that makes it resonate with people from diverse cultures.

“There’s a link so blues seems to go over all over the world,” said Hammond, who recently completed a brief tour of Brazil. “It’s that cultural phenomenon you find in countries that have a kind of blues. In Portugal they have the fado, which is like the blues. In Greece they have the rembetika, which is a very passionate, very soulful, deep kind of music. There’s a faction of society that just gets into it big time.”

Hammond was born Nov. 13, 1942, the son of a famous talent scout for Columbia Records. He became interested in blues while in elementary school, but didn’t decide to pursue it seriously until he was an underclassman at Antioch University in the early 1960s.

“I used to go down to hang out in Dayton,” Hammond said. “There was a club open then called The Lemon Tree, so I’m familiar with the territory. I was there for about a year-and-a-half and then I knew what I wanted to do and just went for it. I was ready. I was a blues fanatic since I was about 10 and it all culminated when I was out in Ohio.

“I used to take rides up to Chicago sometimes on the weekend, and I got to hear Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters. I met some great players that were just starting out like Michael Bloomfield, Charlie Musselwhite, Paul Butterfield and Elvin Bishop, who were guys my age who were into it just like I was. It all stemmed from Ohio, you know, Dayton, Yellow Springs and Springfield.”

Hammond, who has released more than 30 albums since his self-titled debut came out on Vanguard Records in 1962, is currently on the road supporting his new record “Rough and Ready.” He returns to the area on Friday, July 10, for a performance at Canal Street Tavern.

“It’s pretty crazy and a lot of fun,” Hammond said. “I feel completely vital. I don’t rest on my laurels. I’ve not ever had a hit record or anything like that, but I’m out there working. That’s what I do 12 months a year every year — and I feel as good, or better, than I have in my whole career.”