Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
In Memoriam: John Hammond Jr., 1942–2026
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
Mark Samuels, president and founder of New Orleans-based record label, Basin Street Records, has announced the label’s renewal of its exclusive recording deal with Kermit Ruffins. The first recording of the three-record deal is scheduled to begin next month with a proposed spring 2009 release date.
“This is a momentous and sentimental occasion,” said Samuels. “Kermit Ruffins was our first artist signed in October 1997, the first to record in November 1997 and the first CD release in February 1998. It also marks the first new contract for Basin Street since October of 2003.”
Ruffins, a New Orleans native, has released six CDs on Basin Street, including: The Barbecue Swingers Live (1998), Swing This! (1999), 1533 St. Phillip Street (2001), Big Easy (2002), Throwback (2005) and Live At Vaughan’s (2007).
More info: basinstreetrecords.com
Hammond came to the blues through the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which he experienced firsthand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
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