Died On This Date (July 10, 1987) John Hammond / Legendary Talent Scout & Producer
themusicsover John H. Hammond
December 15, 1910 – July 10, 1987
John Hammond was one of the most influential men in the music business during the 20th century. Whether as a producer or talent scout, Hammond was instrumental in the success of many of the names in music. That list includes Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Pete Seeger, Aretha Franklin, and Count Basie. Hammond began his career in the early ’30s, mostly working with jazz artists, primarily helping African American musicians like Lionel Hampton and Charlie Christian land gigs in previously all-white bands. In 1938, Hammond put together the first of the groundbreaking From Spirituals To Swing concerts that included the biggest names in jazz, blues and gospel. Taking place at Carnegie Hall, it was reportedly the first significant concert by a racially mixed group of performers in front of a racially mixed audience. The albums documenting the shows are now considered American music classics and a box set was released in 1999 thanks in part to Morgana Kennedy at Vanguard Records. In the early ’60s, Hammond was hired by Columbia Records where he signed Springsteen, Dylan, Seeger, Aretha and many others. John Hammond passed away after a stroke at the age of 76.
Count Basie is one of most important jazz musicians and band leaders in American history. Born in Red Bank, New Jersey in 1904, Basie was encouraged by his mother to learn the piano, paying 25 cents a lesson for the young boy. Dropping out of junior high school, he took a job at a local movie house where one day when the regular pianist failed to show up for work, Basie took over playing behind the silent films. He never looked back. By his late teens he was playing at local parties, dances and talent shows, and when he wasn’t playing, he was hustling for his next gig. In the mid ’20s, Basie was fully immersed in the jazz scene that was building in Harlem. He would lead his Count Basie Orchestra on and off for the next fifty years. Throughout his astounding career, Basie played for royalty around the world; recorded with a who’s who of popular music – from 
Red Norvo was a pioneering musician who helped introduce the xylophone and vibraphone into jazz. Throughout a long and successful career that he launched in 1925, Norvo played with the likes of Paul Whiteman, 
Known as “The Divine One,” Sarah Vaughan was an American jazz singer who won three Grammys and was awarded the NEA Jazz Masters Award by the National Endowment for the Arts. Equaled perhaps by only 