You can tell just by a phone conversation with John Hammond why he is such a well-known blues singer. His voice is deep and booming with not too much, but just enough grittiness that you can imagine him playing his acoustic guitar and howling out blues tunes all night.

This is exactly what he has done for the last 41 years. Hammond is a world-renowned blues performer and a multi-Grammy award-winning-artist for the 1984 “Blues Explosion” compilation and most recently for his 2001 release, “Wicked Grin.” He has also been nominated for a Grammy on three other occasions. His discography contains more than 35 releases and he has worked with a who’s-who of blues and rock over the years, including Duane Allman, Dr. John and Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones.

When asked whether or not they thought they would be around this long, most artists give the long-winded answer of how they had no idea and never expected to be able to play this long. When Hammond is asked that question though, he replies quickly as if it’s an obvious answer.

“I knew that what I wanted to do for my life was to play the blues, it was overriding,” Hammond says. “I have never lost my bearings — I’ve always focused on what I love to do. I’m a blues singer.”

Although critical acclaim hasn’t been out of the ordinary during Hammond’s career, no album of his has garnered the same amount of attention as “Wicked Grin.” For this record, Hammond teamed up with old pal and fellow Grammy winner Tom Waits. In 1992, Waits penned a song for one of Hammond’s releases, which turned out to be the start of a magical working relationship between the two. It continued when Hammond appeared on Waits’ award-winning 1999 record “Mule Variation.” Interestingly enough, it was the duo’s wives who masterminded the idea of Waits producing Hammond’s record. It turned out Waits would do more than produce, as Hammond ended up recording an album almost completely made up of songs written by Waits.

“In the studio we weren’t really sure what we were going to do,” Hammond admits. “I asked Tom if he had any of his tunes that I might do and five days later we had recorded 20 Tom Waits songs. It was a liberating feeling to do things my own way with that material; it was very opening and dynamic.”

“Wicked Grin” wasn’t just a Tom Waits cover album, though. Hammond made sure the songs were performed in his own style, which he says wasn’t hard since he wasn’t familiar with the songs anyway. He also says that even Waits was shocked to hear the progress of the tracks.

“I would do [the songs] just from the lyrics in my own way and own style, not having anything to judge it by,” Hammond explains. “Tom flipped out and saw that I was onto something. He was so excited that he wanted to play in the band and do his songs my way. We had one of those magic times when everyone was communicating without saying anything.”

Hammond just recently finished up work on his new album, which is slated to be released Feb. 11. This time around, David Hidalgo of Los Lobos fame handled the producing duties on the album, which Hammond calls a “fantastic record.” Hammond is even more excited about the band he recorded the album with, the same band who has toured with him for the last year and a half.

Hammond says this is the first time in 31 years that he has toured with a backing band. He feels more at home doing solo shows but says playing with a band has freed him up to play a lot of material he wouldn’t be able to perform as a solo act. Luckily for fans attending tonight’s show at the Maintenance Shop, Hammond will be in the form he loves best: just him, a harmonica and an acoustic guitar.

“I can do a lot of the songs I do with the band solo; it isn’t the same dynamics but it’s in my capacity,” Hammond says. “I think I’m best solo as far as in terms of my musicianship. I feel most at home as a solo artist, it’s how I began and what I have put most of my energy into over the years.”