1:01:09
John discovered Billie Holiday,
Blind Boy Fuller, Lena Horne...
1:01:13
Count Basie.
1:01:14
Yeah, he was kind of like a Damon Runyon
character. Is that the word?
1:01:18
One of these old Broadway guys,
buzz-cut haircut.
1:01:21
He was very special in a lot of ways.
He was very enthusiastic.
1:01:24
He had great love of music,
and it just radiated out of him.
1:01:27
When I met him, a review had
just come out ofThe New York Times...
1:01:30
of the set I'd played at Gerde's
the previous night.
1:01:32
Hammond had seen the article
and asked me right then and there...
1:01:35
whether I wanted to record
for Columbia Records.
1:01:38
I thought it was almost unreal.
I mean, no one would think that...
1:01:43
this kind of folk music would be
recorded on Columbia Records.
1:01:47
John called me in my office at Columbia.
1:01:50
He says, "Come on down,
I want you to hear something".
1:01:52
He didn't tell me who it was or anything.
I come down.
1:01:54
There's this kid, all dressed up,
with the boots and the suede jacket...
1:01:59
and he had the harmonica on.
1:02:00
And he was singing
in this, you know, rough-edged voice.
1:02:04
I will admit I didn't see the greatness of it.
1:02:08
They recorded the popular hits of the day...
1:02:10
of people usually
with beautiful tones of voices...
1:02:13
and great arrangements.
1:02:18
I don't know what they thought
of my stuff up there.
1:02:22
He has no voice, I mean
he doesn't produce a beautiful sound.
1:02:26
I was used to finding guys
like Bennett and Damone and Mathis.
1:02:30
But when somebody like John Hammond
is so confident of somebody's talent...
1:02:35
you have to respect that,
for no other reason than his track record.
1:02:39
I didn't tell anybody for a bit...
1:02:41
because I almost wasn't sure
it was happening myself.
1:02:48
I don't think I really told anybody
until I actually...
1:02:53
went through with the sessions.
1:02:55
I first heard this from Rick Von Schmidt.
1:02:59
He lives in Cambridge.