Are you ready for this?

Blues crooner John Hammond is almost a senior citizen, with more than 40 years of musical… Blues crooner John Hammond is almost a senior citizen, with more than 40 years of musical experience behind him. He has released 25 studio albums and is still going strong. On his latest, Ready for Love, his fans get to hear his first try at penning the tunes he sings.

Hammond has a penchant for revamping others’ music. His 2001 release, Wicked Grin, was composed entirely of his pal Tom Waits’ songs. On Ready for Love, Waits lends “Gin Soaked Boy” and “Low Side of the Road.” Also contributing rights to their songs are George Jones, Jesse Stone, and Mick Jagger and Keith Richards with the early Rolling Stones tune, “Spider and the Fly.” Producer David Hidalgo of the Mexican-influenced rock band Los Lobos gets more than production credits here; his moniker appears on “No Chance” and “I Brought the Rain.”

Hammond’s first songwriting credit is “Slick Crown Vic,” a tune he wrote after his wife told him he had to write a song. It’s a tribute of sorts to his 1955 Ford Crown Victoria. Slow and a little twangy, it fits his signature covering style fairly well – except, of course, it isn’t something that he just performs.

His voice is almost hauntingly deep and it meshes extremely well with his country/bluesy music. It’s infused with guitars, slow percussion beats, banjos and a harmonica, the instrument of the blues. His style won’t make you wallow in self-pity, but it might make you reach for a bourbon on the rocks, if you’re really getting into the spirit of things.

It’s easy to picture Hammond onstage in a small, smoky club, sitting on a stool, pouring his – er, others’ – heart and soul into the songs he performs. But you don’t have to leave this all up to imagination. Blues club Moondog’s hosts this legend of sorts for not one, but two shows on Friday.