<\/a><\/p>\n

When I was about 12 or 13, I was making my bi-annual visit to Grandma\u2019s house in California.\u00a0 Being at the peak of my Punk-Rock-ness, I would scour through local newspapers looking for shows and record shops to alleviate my pre-teen boredom.\u00a0 Then I\u2019d beg my mom to drive me to them.\u00a0 On one such hunt, I saw an ad for a record store in Costa Mesa called Noise Noise Noise.\u00a0 It was a tiny, piss-wreaking place where you had to sit on the floor to flip through the filmy milk crates full of records.\u00a0 I used to pray I\u2019d find some rare, colored-vinyl, perfect condition, original pressing of The Germs or Catholic Discipline\u2026as if the record store that specialized<\/i> in Punk music wouldn\u2019t know what they had and I\u2019d snag it for a buck fifty.\u00a0 I thought I was sooo smart.<\/p>\n

Well, I didn\u2019t ever find anything like that for less than $40, but I did stumble upon something that I still treasure to this day.\u00a0 It was an original pressing of John Hammond\u2019s first studio album from 1964.\u00a0 Self titled, it had a black and white photo of a young, very attractive man mid-croon, holding a guitar.\u00a0 I knew the name from somewhere\u2026John Hammond.\u00a0 I bought it for less than five bucks anyway, knowing that my memory would kick in and I\u2019d realize what I had at some point.\u00a0 Eventually the switch flipped: Bob Dylan.<\/i><\/p>\n

John Hammond<\/a> <\/strong>was the guy they say discovered Bob Dylan.\u00a0 While that is still a point of contention, Hammond did sign Dylan to Columbia records in \u201961. Dylan was not well received by the label, and was referred to as \u201cHammond\u2019s Folly.\u201d Hammond also discovered Aretha Franklin, was personal friends with Benny Goodman, and active in the Civil Rights movement.<\/p>\n

The man lived a novel-worthy life, and while I would expand on it, the record I bought was not his\u2026it was his son\u2019s.\u00a0 The record\u2019s moniker is John Hammond,<\/i> but the artist is in fact John P. Hammond, a.k.a John Hammond Jr., spawn of the famous producer and activist.\u00a0 Yet despite the easily reached conclusion that Jr. had it easy, being the son of a talent scout and all, he was actually raised by his mother and rarely saw John Hammond Sr.<\/p>\n

He recorded his first album on Vanguard records when he was just 22 after dropping out of college and submerging himself in Southern Blues culture.\u00a0 He is one of the most respected, yet little-known white blues artists of the genre\u2019s mid-\u201860s revival, and has recorded 35 studio, and two live albums since the start of his career.\u00a0 The New York Times interviewed him when he was only 20.\u00a0 He hung out with the likes of Robbie Robertson and Jimi Hendrix, and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2011.\u00a0 He is also a long-time friend of one of my favorite artists of all time-Tom Waits-and released Wicked Grin<\/i> in 2001, a collection of Waits covers that was produced by the gravel-mouthed Californian himself.<\/p>\n

Despite Hammond\u2019s irrefutable proficiency in traditional blues guitar and barrelhouse vocals, Hammond has never been a songwriter.\u00a0 His specialty was performing the traditional blues ballads of the 30\u2019s, 40\u2019s and 50\u2019s.\u00a0 His style was so pure and convincing, his voice so full and deep, one would never guess he was a scrawny white boy from New York City.<\/p>\n

When I first put on the record, I was blown away.\u00a0 It was so sparse, yet so full-bodied.\u00a0 All that could be heard was guitar, harmonica, that voice, <\/i>and one, solitary foot stomping on an echoing stage.\u00a0 It was brilliant.\u00a0 Hammond\u2019s vocal style is one of booming trains, slow-moving molasses, and good, old-fashioned pain.<\/p>\n

While I wish I could share the whole album with you, it was incredibly difficult to find tracks from this specific record on the web.\u00a0 I was able to locate track five, a rendition of Big Bill Broozny\u2019s \u201cThis Train.\u201d Still, I highly recommend you continue the search yourselves.\u00a0 Maybe you\u2019ll find something in a crusty record shop in Costa Mesa.<\/p>\n

(Hammond is still alive, well, recording, and touring to this day.)<\/p>\n

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Tracklist:<\/span><\/p>\n

1) Two Trains Running (McKinley Morganfield<\/p>\n

2) Give Me A 32-20 (Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup)<\/p>\n

3) Maybelline (Chuck Berry)<\/p>\n

4) Louise (Mixed Sources, Plus Robert Pete Williams)<\/p>\n

5) This Train (Big Bill Broonzy)<\/p>\n

6) East St. Louis Blues (Furry Lewis)<\/p>\n

7) Going Back To Florida (Lightning Hopkins)<\/p>\n

8)\u00a0Mean Old Frisco (Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup)<\/p>\n

9) I Got A Letter This Morning (Eugene “Son” House)<\/p>\n

10) The Hoochie Coochie Man (Muddy Waters)<\/p>\n

11) Crossroads Blues (Robert Johnson)<\/p>\n

12) See That My Grave Is Kept Clean (Blind Lemon Jefferson)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n