“Not only was John a virtuoso on guitar, harp, singing and choosing songs, to me it felt like he was totally possessed by the blues”: The life and times of John P. Hammond, the blues genius who inspired Bonnie Raitt and countless others

Portrait of American Blues musician John P Hammond, Topanga, California, 1962.

The great black post-war bluesmen are almost gone now, and the passing of John P. Hammond – from a cardiac arrest in February at the age of 83 – is a stark reminder that time is also running out for the hip white kids who followed their lead.

“I’ve lost my best friend,” wrote the Grammy-winning guitarist’s frequent collaborator, Paul James, in the first of many tributes. “The blues world has lost a giant.”