Hammond was an as activist who wanted to change the world and Bob Dylan did too. Hammond spotted Dylan for the talent he was amongst the folky rabble of the Village, signed him to Columbia and recorded his first two albums plainly without overdubs or accompaniment other than Dylan's own guitar and harmonica. "Blowin' in the Wind" and "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" are about as pure as it gets. Dubbed "Hammond's folly" early-on at the label, Dylan has gone on to be the most important songwriter of the last 40 years.

In the early-'70s Hammond found the only "next Dylan" who ever amounted to much, Bruce Springsteen. When they met, Hammond asked Springsteen if he had ever written anything he wouldn't dare record. Springsteen replied with "If I Was the Priest," a scathing indictment from a lapsed Catholic. Hammond connected with Springsteen in the two-hour audition and signed him to Columbia, though he never produced the most important artist of the '70s.

In '75 Hammond reached mandatory retirement age with Columbia, but stayed on as an independent, found Stevie Ray Vaughan and produced his first sessions. John Hammond died in '87. He never accepted royalties from any of his productions, viewing them as the artist's due.

Hammond defines himself as he defined the role of the producer in his autobiography: "All [producers] have an ear for talent and tune, the courage and determination to hear performed what they hear in their lively imaginations, and the good fortune to be at the right place at the right time." In Hammond's case being at the right place at the right time lasted over 50 years and changed the course of America and the world.