The Record Producers: Four Who Have Shaped Music

Musicians create music , and producers shape the sound and presentation of recorded music. This four-session course will devote one session each to four key record producers, and include representative music and photographs. This week instructor Charley Walters looks at John Hammond, who began producing jazz in 1931 and went on to work with Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, George Benson, Aretha Franklin and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Previously, Walters has taught three courses at the Atheneum - Blues 1.0, Blues 2.0 and 1967: The Year The Music Changed. He wrote record reviews for Rolling Stone and the Boston Phoenix in the 1970s, contributed to The Rolling Stone Record Guide in 1979 and owned and managed Musicall, Nantucket's only record store, from 1982 to 2006. Currently, Walters hosts Island Blue Notes, a weekly blues and jazz radio show on WACK and WNCK. The series continues on March 14, 21 and 28.