In a career spanning six decades, John Hammond recorded and discovered many of the legendary figures of American popular music, from Bessie Smith to Bruce Springsteen. Equally important, his passion for music was matched by a commitment to civil rights. In the second of two parts, his son, blues singer John Paul Hammond , picks up the story in 1938 with the "Spirituals to Swing" concerts - his father's most spectacular salute to black music and musicians he loved including Count Basie, Big Bill Broonzy , Sonny Terry , Big Joe Turner , Pete Johnson and Albert Ammons.
After that the music comes from the cast list of superstars his father signed and worked with up to his death in 1987, Aretha Franklin ,
Pete Seeger , Bob Dylan , Leonard Cohen , George Benson , Bruce Springsteen and many more.