By JOE MCCULLOUGH

By JOE MCCULLOUGH

Rappahannock News Contributing Writer

Regarded as one of the champions of blues today, John Hammond has spent 20 years perfecting the style that won him a Grammy Award in 1985. His playing has carried him from the streets of Los Angeles to sold-out shows all over the world.

On Sunday, March 11, this oneman blues library returns to the Gay Street Theatre in Washington. On his first visit to Rappahannock County last May, Hammond delighted the standing-room only audience with such blues gems as Robert Johnson’s “Walkin’ Blues” and Blind Willie McTell’s “Statesboro Blues.”

Hammond considers himself an “eclectic blues player.” In a recent telephone interview from his home in New York, he identified the major influences on his music as Robert Johnson and other blues stylists from the Mississippi Delta during the 1930’s. “There were so many guitar technicians during that era and each had his own technique,” Hammond said. “They all operated on a realistic scale, going on the basis of their show. They played without electricity and fancy gadgets. Instead they relied on a more personal atmosphere.”

The long list of performers who have collaborated with Hammond reads like a “Who’s Who” in contemporary music, crossing the genre lines from blues to pop to rock and back again. Jimi Hendrix was discovered while playing in Hammond’s band. Steve Winwood credits John with starting him on the road to success.

Other musical stars who played with Hammond include Levon Helm, Rick Danko and Robbie Robertson (all from The Band), Bill Wyman (of the Rolling Stones), Bob Dylan, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Duane Allman, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Nighthawks, Chuck Berry, Neil Young, Tracy Chapman and Bo Didley.

Like the great bluesmen he emulates, Hammond prefers to play alone. “A solo blues artist is so effec