I’ve always been interested in the background players of the music industry. John Hammond, most recently the subject of the new Guinness Made Of More ad campaign, is one such somewhat under-appreciated influencer.
As a producer, critic, A&R scout and label man, Hammond was instrumental in the establishment of careers of some serious music legends: from American ’30s jazz to the folk scene of the 50s and 60s to rock’n’roll royalty like Bruce Springsteen who even today can sell out two Croke Park concerts in Dublin in under two hours. Bob Dylan, Arthur Russell, Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, Aretha Franklin, Pete Seeger and Leonard Cohen are among those who benefited from Hammond’s belief and patronage.
On this Spotify playlist, it’s plain to hear really quite incredible how many musicians Hammond was involved with in his career:
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
