Interview with John Hammond
Words: Shawn Kyle
Photo: Jessica Chornesky

Appearing:
August 2, 2007
House of Blues, Orlando

August 3, 2007
Skippers Smokehouse, Tampa

August 4, 2007
Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale

With over 40 years as a performer, and an album for almost every year that he has been singing for his bread, to call John Hammond an iconic mainstay of American music would be the only accurate description. Winning a Grammy and being nominated for four others, and usually only being accompanied by his acoustic guitar, dobro and harmonica, while singing in a barrelhouse style, he has proven that staying unwaveringly true to your roots can still bring moderate commercial success. Over these years he has collaborated with John Lee Hooker, Roosevelt Sykes, Duane Allman, Charlie Musselwhite, and Tom Waits, and introduced Robbie Robertson and "the Band" to a young man named Bob Dylan. John Hammond remains one of the last living links to a massive library of American blues and folk music which he still actively tours and performs around the world the greater half of 365 days a year.

REAX:  Hello John, I am glad to hear you are coming down to play a few shows in FL, touring behind your new record...
John Hammond:  Well I always tour anyway, I do happen to have a new record, but that's not why I tour.

REAX:  Your father had a long history as a producer, and discoverer of a lot of music that already existed in America at the time, but due to racial divide was not available to a wide audience. Partially due to his standing in the industry he was able to bring this amazing music to an audience of all colors. What sort of affect did that have on you as a young man, and what part of that musical history were you involved in?
JH:  I was born in 1942, so I got to see a lot of the things that he had made happen, like Count Basie and Benny Goodman and a lot of the stuff that he had produced in the 30's had become big time in the 40's but WW2 kinda happened and things changed after that.  The swing music went into more of a bebop phaze, and whatever I was aware of is reality on that level. But I did not grow up with my dad, and I didn't get to see things on a more intimate level.

REAX:  On some of your earlier records, there was a very stripped down approach, and occasionally critics have called you an 'interpretive musician' whereas you were interpreting old music and traditional songs...
JH:  I was a traditional blues singer. I still am. I do a lot of songs that I just think are great songs, and I have made them my own in my own way. I think that’s what most singers do. I have a hard time being called an "interpreter" or a "cover artist" because in reality, when you are singing a genre of music, you are who you are, and your voice makes it become your take on whatever... There are a lot of great singers that have not been called interpreters. Artists that did not write songs. Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley; these were not song writers, but they are not ever called interpreters...

REAX:  I would have to agree with you. Particularly as blues and roots music are of an oral tradition of storytelling.
JH:  Exactly. You nailed it.

REAX:  For many people that have heard your music and listened to your recordings over all these years, you have been that gateway artist that leads people into an entire genre of music that they would not otherwise have been able to access. Most people would have never heard the music or known of Memphis Minnie, Big Bill Broonzy, or Blind Willie McTell, great artists that long since have passed.
JH:  Yeah, there's a lot of people that have said they got their inspiration from hearing me, and that just blows my mind. You know, if that has led them into this music that I think is so deep and fantastic then I am very pleased.

REAX:  Your new release "Push Comes to Shove" was produced by the artist known as G Love. I have read that he had a fan relationship with you and came to some of your shows very young and early in his career, and you struck a chord in him. Now you two are collaborating together, with him as a co-producer. How was this recording experience different from those past?
JH:  Not so much different, we went in on May 1st and mastered it on May 9th, so it went real fast and real efficiently, we had a great engineer (Oz Fritz) that I've worked with on the last five projects I've done. And he records on analog tape, and we got it done just the way we hoped it would work out.  And I think G. Love, or Garrett Dutton learned a whole lot (laughs). My wife Marla and I are real partners in the recordings that we do, and the idea is to be efficient, we don't have a lot of money to work with so we try to get it down to having the players that we want, the material that we want to do all scoped out so we don't waste time in the studio. And Garrett got right with the program, he saw what he wanted to do, and was really helpful and he added a lot.

REAX:  Digital studio work seems to hurt the sound of traditional music. A recording of blues or roots or R&B music with too much digital polish always winds up sounding forced or contrived. Your band on this recording sounds very loose and alive...
JH:  It was live, there was very little overdubbing done, everyone was right on the same page, what a phenomenal bunch too... Steven Hodges on the drums, a guy that I met through Tom Waits, whenever I put a band together, Steve is the guy I work with. Marty Ballou is a bassist that I met through blues guitarist Duke Robellard, also Bruce Katz on piano and organ. But with the band it is expensive and I can't do it as often as I like. 

REAX:  One of your most successful recordings, Wicked Grin, was comprised of mostly Tom Waits compositions and produced by him as well. Had you two worked together previously?
JH:  I've known Tom since 1974, so I have had a chance to play gigs with him, hang out with him, and watch his career just blossom, the guy is amazing. I had a chance to work with him as a producer on that record and it was just phenomenal for me.

REAX:  Your solo shows with just your foot stomping on the boards, and you accompanying yourself on vocals, harmonica, and dobro with also a 6 or 12 string guitar have been well received as well, and the past couple records aren't the beginning of your collaboration with other great artists of your stature. In fact, legend has it that you are the only person to have both Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix backing you in one of your bands at the same time...
JH:  Yeah, that's right, but that was a long, long time ago...

REAX:  Are there any standout shows or events that you would like to share?
JH:  It's difficult to just point out one or two, I have had so many touring experiences with other artists and guys that I have seen play that just blew my mind, or inspired me, and I have also had a chance to do motion picture soundtracks, and had a chance to record with so many great players… it really has been an awesome thing, sometimes I have to pinch myself and say, geez, is this my life? It really has been amazing, I have been really fortunate.

REAX:  One of the new developments for you over the last few records, your new one especially, is that you have come to light as a great songwriter.
JH:  Well I don't know about great, but I have begun to write some songs that I feel good about, and they made it on to the compact discs, and I feel good about that as it was a long time coming.

REAX:  In the past you have been mining the enormous bodies of music and bringing long buried songs to light that otherwise would never have been heard by people in a live performance. At what point did you decide that it was time for you to bring your own songs to the table?
JH:  Well, at one point my wife suggested, "why don't you write a song for this next project, maybe we can make some extra money". I never had thought of myself as a songwriter, but it came pretty easily, so we wrote "Slick Crown Vic" and then on the next record I wrote 2 more songs and on this new record I wrote 5 more songs, so it's all starting to happen, in my 60's yet!

REAX:  Well, definitely having the background and experience you have can't be a bad thing. Honestly there are some songwriters today that probably should wait that long before they start writing.
JH: (laughter)

REAX:  What are your plans for the future, after this tour?
JH:  Well I have plenty more tours...

REAX:  What as far as recording?
JH:  Well the recording industry is going through major changes right now, and I don't know how long I will be with this label, but my wife and I have started a new label, and we have distribution going into effect in Europe in July. And if nothing happens with EMI, we will have our own label, and I will be out there playing gigs and having fun.

REAX:  You just touched on something there that I would like to ask you. With your long history as a recording artist, and your long career in recording music, you have a unique insight into the development and the rise and peaks of the recording industry. With all the changes going on now and the shift towards downloading and music sharing, do you think that this is going to have a negative effect on live music?
JH:  I think these changes will make live music that much more important. A lot of artists are so dependent on their labels to do this and that, and they only tour when there is a new record. That kind of mentality is gonna change. Artists will go back to the days... like when I started to record in ‘62 there were 100 LP's a year on all labels combined... now there are like 100 a day, and that's gonna change to the old style of things, you are out there touring and you are going to get known.