20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
John Hammond: Behind the Music, April 18, 2006
> John Hammond's discovery and signing of superstars like Bob Dylan, Bruce
> Springsteen and Stevie Ray Vaughn assure that most rock fans are familiar
> with the image of the tall man, impeccably dressed with a wide grin.
>
> In "The Producer", an enlightening and gripping page turner, you learn that
> Hammond played a leading role changing and developing American music. In
> this book you watch the musical landscape of the 20th century move quickly
> and dramatically. Remarkably, Hammond, a man whose instincts, generosity and
> enthusiasm are without parallel in the music industry was there for nearly
> all of it. The author's ability to move the action as well as exercise his
> generous and in-depth knowledge of jazz, folk blues and rock in an
> entertaining and informative manner is only one part of the "The Producer's"
> achievements.
>
> As importantly, we learn that Hammond's innate stubbornness and privileged
> upbringing gave him an unfaltering conviction that great music would succeed
> in transcending racism and a segregated society. His involvement with the
> burgeoning civil rights movement is written with great detail and
> illustrates how Hammond would put his money, energies and reputation into
> anything he believed strongly in.
>
> Above all, like all good books about music or musicians, "The Producer"
> sends you back to discover or rediscover great American music that was
> Hammond's proudest achievement.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
interesting and well written, November 9, 2006
My only negative comment is perhaps some repetitiveness in some of the comments in the book. Otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed it. I like biographies in general. This is a must read for people interested in the music business. Mr. Hammond was an interesting character and a man who stood up for what he believed in. He loved jazz, and fought for racial equality. It is amazing how many different artists he was instrumental in promoting over the years.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A distant but still interesting account of John Hammond, November 6, 2006
John Hammond was a key figure in American popular music, bring diverse talents such as Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Stevie Ray Vaughn, to widespread audiences. He also helped promote entire categories of music, including jazz, blues, and folk, contributing significantly to the popular revivals of these fields. Duston Prial's biography is insightful, based on careful research in libraries and through interviews. The book is well written, and it will be an important document in maintaining Hammond's well deserved reputation as a cultural icon.
Hammond, however, appears as a somewhat distant character in Prial's account. One never really gets a sense of John Hammond's inner, subjective sense. Prial at times seems more concerned with pointing out where Hammond errored in his own autobiography -- "John Hammond on Record" (written with Irving Townsend and published in 1977) -- such as in the case of the reported causes of singer Bessie Smith's death. Prial fails to consider that Hammond actually may have believed (or internalized after so many retellings) the accounts that attributed her death to racist treatment following a car accident. Instead, Prial tells us, "The whole episode was an unseemly case of Hammond's not allowing the facts to get in the way of his good story."
In some cases it in the book it is not clear why Prial favors one version of events over another. The classic example is his account of Bob Dylan's trying to get out of his Columbia records contract. Readers interested in this incident should compare the richly insightful if brief account given by Hammond in his autobiography with Prial's retelling. These quibbles aside, Prial's book makes for enjoyable reading.
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