Chuck Hammer

Chuck Hammer is an American guitarist and Emmy nominated digital film composer, known for seminal textural guitar work with Lou Reed, David Bowie, and Guitarchitecture.

As an artist, Hammer is best known for his Guitarchitecture recordings, though he is also widely regarded as an influential soundtrack composer, having scored approximately 300 documentary films. He is currently developing a series of improvisational live recordings. He attended State University of New York at Buffalo, studying classical guitar with Oswald Rantucci, jazz with Archie Shepp, and attended lectures presented by Karlheinz Stockhausen. Hammer was also a part of the Lou Reed Band that hosted the June 1979 concerts at The Bottom Line in New York City that included Don Cherry.

He was born in New York City.

Early work

Hammer toured extensively with Lou Reed from 1978 through 1980. During these concerts Hammer utilized new guitar technology, known as guitar-synth, to orchestrate songs from Berlin, Street Hassle, The Bells and The Velvet Underground. It was during this time that Hammer developed an approach to composing and recording known as Guitarchitecture. Hammer recorded with Lou Reed on Growing Up in Public, January 1980.