If your foot doesn’t tap the floor repeatedly watching this, have a word with yourself.
The brand new Guinness ad takes a short look at the life of John Hammond, known as the greatest musical talent scout of all time.
Hammond – who discovered the likes of Billie Holiday, Count Basie and Aretha Franklin – was keen to bring black and white musicians together at a time of segregation and later described himself as, “the sometimes intolerant champion of tolerance.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMBmJYBrigY
Later in his career he would sign legends like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen to Columbia, but it was his role in uniting people of differing ethnic backgrounds that he became best known for.
The ad features a voiceover by Danny Glover and was directed by Jake Nava.
Nava said, “It’s fair to say that John Hammond is an unsung hero and his lasting legacy on the world of music is a story that has been largely untold. It is wonderful to have the opportunity to tell an aspect of it in a way that I believe authentically captures the significance of what he achieved.”
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