1. John Paul Hammond (born 13th November 1942), also known as "John Hammond… Read Full Bio ↴1. John Paul Hammond (born 13th November 1942), also known as "John Hammond Jr", is a blues singer and guitarist. He usually plays acoustic guitars and dobros and sings in a barrelhouse style. Since 1962, when he made his debut on Vanguard Records, Hammond has made 29 albums. In the 1990s he recorded for the Pointblank label. Hammond has earned one Grammy Award and been nominated for four others. He is the son of the legendary record producer John H. Hammond.

Although critically acclaimed, John Hammond has had only moderate commercial success. Nonetheless, he enjoys a strong fan base and has earned respect from the likes of John Lee Hooker, Roosevelt Sykes, Duane Allman, Robbie Robertson, and Charlie Musselwhite, all of whom have contributed their musical talents to Hammond's records. In addition, he is the only person who ever had Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix in his band at the same time, even if it was only for five days in the 1960s when Hammond played the Gaslight Café in New York. To his regret, they never recorded together.

John Hammond has had a longstanding friendship with songwriter Tom Waits, and has performed Waits' songs on occasion. In 2001, he released Wicked Grin, an album entirely of Tom Waits compositions. Waits himself provided guitar work and backing vocals as well as producing the project.

2. John Hammond was a old time banjo player from the 1920's. He recorded the bluegrass classic 'Little Birdie' in 1925.

I'M A MAN
John Hammond Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Now when I was a little boy,
At the age of five,
I had somethin' in my pocket,
Keep a lot of folks alive.

Now I'm a man,
Made twenty-one,
You know baby,

We can have a lot of fun.

I'm a man,
I spell m-a-n...man.
All you pretty women,
Stand in line,
I can make love to you baby,
In an hour's time.

I'm a man,
I spell m-a-n...man.

I goin' back down,
To kansas to
Bring back the second cousin,
Little john the conqueroo.

I'm a man,
I spell m-a-n...man.

The line I shoot,
Will never miss,
The way I make love to 'em,
They can't resist.

I'm a man,
I spell m-a-n...man.

Overall Meaning

In John Hammond's song "I'm A Man," he sings about his journey from childhood to adulthood and boasts about his manhood. The opening verse talks about how at the age of five, he carried something with him that kept a lot of people alive. It's unclear what this something is, but it could be interpreted as a metaphor for his potential or his strength. As he grew older, he became a man at the age of twenty-one and states that he's ready to have fun with pretty women who stand in line for him.

The next verse talks about his journey to Kansas to bring back his second cousin, Little John the Conqueroo. This could be interpreted as a symbol of him reclaiming his roots and heritage as he becomes a man. He then goes on to sing about how he's skilled at lovemaking and can do it in just an hour's time, suggesting that he's a desirable partner for women.

Line by Line Meaning

Now when I was a little boy,
I have a story to tell about my childhood experiences.

At the age of five,
This story starts when I was five years old.

I had somethin' in my pocket,
I owned something that was very important to me.

Keep a lot of folks alive.
That something was very valuable and kept many people alive.

Now I'm a man,
Now, I have grown up and become a man.

Made twenty-one,
I am now 21 years old.

You know baby,
Hey, sweetheart,

We can have a lot of fun.
We can have a great time together.

I'm a man,
I am confident in myself as a man.

I spell m-a-n...man.
Just in case you didn't know, I can spell it out for you. M-A-N spells 'man.'

All you pretty women,
Attention, all the attractive women listening.