- Father of blues musician John Hammond.
- Hammond was instrumental in sparking or furthering numerous musical careers, including those of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Pete Seeger, Aretha Franklin, Leonard Cohen. He is also largely responsible for the revival of delta blues artist Robert Johnson's music.
- Brother-in-law to clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman who married Hammond's sister Alice.
- He served in the military in World War II.
- Member of the Vanderbilt family - his great-grandfather was William Henry Vanderbilt.
- Brother of Rachel Breck.
- Longtime talent scout and record producer for Columbia Records.
- Boardmember of the NAACP for thirty years. He resigned in 1966 because he felt the group had grown insufficiently aggressive and he objected to executive director Roy Wilkins' support for the Vietnam War.
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