If there was ever a white man who understood the history or significance of the blues...this is the guy. He certainly didn't grow up in poverty...but listen to him.
John Paul Hammond (born November 13, 1942, New York City), is a blues singer and guitarist. He is the son of record producer John H. Hammond and is sometimes referred to as "John Hammond, Jr." He is a descendant of William Henry Vanderbilt of the famed super wealthy Vanderbilt family.
He is a son of the famed record producer and talent scout John Henry Hammond, Jr. and his first wife, Jemison McBride, an actress. He is a descendant of William Henry Vanderbilt. He has a brother, Jason, and by his father's second marriage to Esme O'Brien Sarnoff, he has a stepsister, (Esme) Rosita Sarnoff. Hammond's middle name, Paul, is in honor of a friend of his father, the actor Paul Robeson. However, the younger Hammond was raised by his mother and only saw his father a few times a year while growing up.
He began playing guitar in high school, partially inspired by a Jimmy Reed performance at the Apollo Theater. He attended Antioch College for one year, but dropped out to pursue a music career. By the mid-60s 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, The Hawks (later known as The Band), Dr. John, and Duane Allman.
