John Hammond, the Grammy‑winning blues singer and guitarist whose prolific career honored the Delta blues across six decades, died on Saturday, Feb. 28, at the age of 83. His death was confirmed by musician and longtime collaborator Paul James, who shared that Hammond’s wife, Marla, had notified him of the news. Billboard Canada reported that Hammond had died of a cardiac arrest.
“The blues world has lost a giant. I’ve lost my best friend,” said James. “I’ve just been going through the photos we’ve shared over the years — from the Horseshoe Tavern to Albert’s Hall in Toronto, from London to Montreal, to Edmonton to Ottawa — and each picture tells a story of great music, great people, and unforgettable nights. He was such an inspiration to me, I’ll miss him terribly.”
Hammond, who was also known as as John P. Hammond or John Hammond Jr., was the son of pioneering producer and talent scout John Henry Hammond Jr. The younger Hammond played guitar in high school and dropped out of Antioch College in Ohio after a year to pursue music professionally.
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He signed with Vanguard Records in 1963 and his self-titled debut album featured a plethora of music written by such blues musicians as Muddy Waters, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and Robert Johnson alongside covers of songs like Chuck Berry’s “Maybellene.” Hammond released over 30 albums throughout this career, and in 1985 won a Grammy for his performance on the compilation record Blues Explosion, which was recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1982. He received more nominations in the years following, including for his 2009 album, Rough & Tough, which garnered a nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album. He also received Grammy nods for You Can’t Judge a Book by the Cover (1993), Trouble No More (1994), Found True Love (1996), Long As I Have You (1998), and In Your Arms Again (1995).
In 2011, Hammond was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Blues Hall of Fame. In a tribute by George Thorogood, the Destroyers member paid tribute to Hammond’s legacy. “For more than 50 years, John Hammond, Jr. was an icon, a professional role model and, most importantly, a friend,” wrote Thorogood. “While we mourn his passing, we celebrate what the man and his music meant to us, and to so many.”
