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\n\tJohn Hammond, the Grammy\u2011winning blues singer and guitarist whose prolific career honored the Delta blues\u00a0across six decades, died on Saturday, Feb. 28, at the age of 83. His death was confirmed by musician and longtime collaborator Paul James, who shared that Hammond\u2019s wife, Marla, had notified him of the news. Billboard<\/a><\/em> Canada reported that Hammond had died of a cardiac arrest.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe blues world has lost a giant. I\u2019ve lost my best friend,\u201d said James. \u201cI\u2019ve just been going through the photos we\u2019ve shared over the years \u2014 from the Horseshoe Tavern to Albert\u2019s Hall in Toronto, from London to Montreal, to Edmonton to Ottawa \u2014 and each picture tells a story of great music, great people, and unforgettable nights. He was such an inspiration to me, I\u2019ll miss him terribly.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tHammond, who was also known as as John P. Hammond or John Hammond Jr., was the son of pioneering producer and talent scout John Henry Hammond Jr. The younger Hammond played guitar in high school and dropped out of Antioch College in Ohio after a year to pursue music professionally.<\/p>\n