The New York Aristocrat who Re-Shaped American Music

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[DaveChurchill]

He also created Jurassic Park, spared no expense!

[Sam_on_YouTube]

Dylan averaged about an album a year for about 25 years. Then slowed down to about one every 2 years. Now in his 80s, he's slowed down to about one every 3 years, releasing his 40th album in 2023.

[BOOMNERD]

My Dad, a jazz lover used to remark that John H. Hammond Jr. had his dream job. To wit, lover of Benny Goodman, Count Basie, and Billie Holliday, and he listened to Ed Beech, Just Jazz.

[Sam_on_YouTube]

To this day, at concerts Bob Dylan is simply introduced as "Columbia Recording Artist Bob Dylan."

[DarkRider]

For some reason I was expecting to hear that he invented the Hammond organ

[CJSports]

I saw the title and thought for a sec it would be about Jurassic Park. Great video though, about a topic I was largely unaware of.

[elekimin]

So basically, a human (by design a flawed creature, shaped by his environment) did the best he could to use his privilage to fight for what he thought was right. That isn't a complicated legacy. It's just...legacy. He didn't apologize for who he is and did a lot of good with it.

[macfilms]

I'd heard his name as a producer, had no idea how deep his involvement was. I'm glad you presented the good & the bad - most humans aren't saints (a critical eye on Gandhi has some pretty uncomfortable truths for example) - people are complex and attempts at vilification or hagiography will always fall short.

[MisterMoccasin]

I messaged you years ago suggesting this guy! Super excited to see you covering him!

[davidcolin]

Being an enormous fan of SRV, I was aware of the heritage that Hammond left for the world of music.
For better or worse, wealth provides such enormous advantages that the wealthy often have no conception of things the poor or just "Not immensely rich" have to put up with. But that someone from such a background really did try to counter some of those things for PoC is still worthy of applause.

[rumrstv]

Thank you for a great summary of Hammond's amazing legacy. Warts and all! The Robert Johnson King of the Delta Blues album that I bought back in the 1970s changed my life. You can hear the early rumblings of Rock and Roll in it. Because of John Hammond it exists.

[GizzyDillespee]

3:06 Not to mention he inspired the "Supreme Leader" haircut...

[hunterbrown]

Ralph Peer might be someone with more impact, he is credited as recording both the first blues record and country record, discovering people such as the Carter Family and Jimmy Rogers

[LynnHermione]

Funny how this is seen as "nurturing talent" but with foreign poc they get called fake and manufactured

[jamegumm]

So he didn’t invent the Hammond organ?

[ThumperE]

You have to remember something, humans are not characters in a book, we are complex. For many of our goods we have evils. It doesn't take away from someone's accomplishments. If you remove someone that is unfavorable, you lose everything and are cheated.

[liamtahaney]

Its a shame rich people arent cool like this anymore

[therunt]

I never heard about him before, thanks!
Gloria's jeans were pretty good.
My dad played swing jazz too, trumpet. He was with Woody Herman and Ben Webster.

[EyeballOrigami]

A great essay! Thank you. I never realized Hammond was a Vanderbilt. That means he's related to Anderson Cooper. What a small world.

[Bartholomule]

I really love the Benny Goodman quartet. I've got records from Benny and the three other members. Also have records of the Sextet with Charlie Christian.