The Producer

John Hammond and the Soul of American Music

By: Dunstan Prial

Narrated by: Ray Porter

The son of a Vanderbilt heiress, John Hammond listened to jazz records with his parents’ servants, went to Harlem as a teenager, and became a regular in clubs where very few white faces ever appeared. Taking a little family money, Hammond went across racial lines in pre-World War II America and came back with recordings of some of the greatest jazz musicians in history. By age 22, he had convinced Benny Goodman to integrate his band and made his first big discovery: Billie Holiday.

Later, as jazz gave way to pop and rock, Hammond championed Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Bruce Springsteen, and Stevie Ray Vaughan in his life’s extraordinary second act.

In Dunstan Prial’s hands, Hammond’s biography is the story of American popular music since the 1930s, a tale of a man at the center of things, with his ears wide open.

©2006 Dunstan Prial (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Dunstan Prial…has fashioned the diverse strands of Mr. Hammond’s life into a very readable narrative.” ( The New York Times)

A Nicely Written History of a 20th Century Giant

This book is a fascinating study of the eccentric life of John Hammond. Prial is fair about Hammond, noting his strengths and flaws. Overall, the audio narration is excellent, although there are quite a few edits that are jarringly spliced. Towards the end of the book, Prial pontificates about Flock of Seagulls or Duran Duran being artistically invalid compared to Stevie Ray Vaughan. This was Prial's "naughty" Hammond moment that probably should have been cut. Tsk Tsk! This comment aside, the book is well researched and presented. I learned a lot and recommend this one!

He changed music

What a great story about an amazing man. Never made much money in the music business even after his fortune was gone he actually needed the money. I was interested in him because of Bob Dylan but I’m just amazed at the number of music superstars that he had a part in the success of.

The Straw That Stirred The Drink

For anyone interested in the development of American music in the 20th century, this book is essential reading. John Hammond was a big-hearted, opinionated and fearless advocate for musicians and for the civil rights movement. What this book makes very clear is that Hammond was in the business for the music and the musicians, not for personal gain. Mind you, as a direct descendant of Cornelius Vanderbilt he had the resources to make that choice. The portraits of some of Hammond's discoveries, Billie Holliday, Bennie Goodman and Bruce Springsteen, are excellent. One negative; there's some awkward audio editing on the recording. Not a big issue though.

Best music book I’ve read in a long time.

Terrific story, and very well written. I listened on Audible, and couldn’t “put it down.”

Dang this is good.

I knew about John’s connection to Robert Johnson and SRV, but the rest was a learning experience. This was a very interesting listen. The only issue is the tacky and obvious narrative edits. They were distracting. But, i highly recommend.