Bruce Hampton
Bruce Hampton | |
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Aquarium Rescue Unit The Stained Souls The Fiji Mariners The Quark Alliance The Codetalkers The Pharaoh Gummitt The Madrid Express | |
Website | colbruce.com |
Bruce Hampton (born Gustav Valentine Berglund III; April 30, 1947 – May 1, 2017)[1] was an American musician. He was a key figure in the Atlanta, Georgia music scene, mentoring numerous other musicians who became national stars. His own musical style was avant-garde, combining elements of jazz, fusion, southern rock and jam band styles.
He first rose to prominence as the leader of the
Career
As a member of the Hampton Grease Band, Bruce Hampton helped record the 1971 album Music to Eat. According to legend, this was the second-worst-selling album in Columbia Records history, with the worst being a yoga record.[7][8]
Hampton's band The Late Bronze Age consisted of "Col. Hampton B. Coles, Ret." (Bruce Hampton) on vocals, slide guitar, mandolin, and chazoid; Ben "Pops" Thornton (Billy McPherson) on vocals, guitar, saxophones, and keyboards; Lincoln Metcalfe (Ricky Keller) on bass, guitar, brass, and vocals; and Bubba Phreon (Jerry Fields) on drums, percussion, trombone, and vocals. They performed several songs in the 1983 movie Getting It On.[9]
Hampton helped start the 1990s seminal H.O.R.D.E. tours.[10] The best known of his bands to play H.O.R.D.E. is the jazz-rock outfit Aquarium Rescue Unit, which featured improvisational music all-stars Oteil Burbridge, Jimmy Herring, Rev. Jeff Mosier, Matt Mundy, and Jeff Sipe.[11]
In 1994, Hampton then formed the progressive rock/jazz duo Fiji Mariners and recorded two albums on Capricorn Records with Dan Matrazzo who simultaneously played keys, drums, and bass. Later, Ricky Fargo, Marcus Williams joined on drums and Joseph Patrick Moore joined on bass.
Hampton was the voice of Warren, a talking potted shrub, in a 1998 episode ("Warren") of the TV show Space Ghost Coast to Coast.[12] Hampton played Morris, the songwriting band manager, in Billy Bob Thornton's 1996 film Sling Blade. He also starred in Mike Gordon's 2001 film Outside Out as a guitar 'out'structor.[13]
Grammy Award nominated blues singer and longtime friend
Basically Frightened: The Musical Madness of Col. Bruce Hampton, Ret. is a documentary about Hampton. It premiered at the Atlanta Film Festival in March 2012.[14]
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal presented Hampton with the Governor's Award In The Arts and Humanities in 2012.[15]
In 2014, Hampton made a
2015 saw the production of Here Comes Rusty in which Hampton portrayed the lead character, Dicky, alongside co-stars Fred Willard, Joey Lauren Adams and Brandon Niederauer. The film debuted at the Atlanta Film Festival in 2016, but was not commercially available until 2020.
70th birthday concert and death
On May 1, 2017, Hampton was honored by his friends at the
During the encore performance of the show, Hampton suffered a massive heart attack and collapsed on stage.
Discography
Main releases
- 1971 – Music to Eat – Hampton Grease Band (Columbia Records)
- 1978 – One Ruined Life of a Bronze Tourist – Col. Bruce Hampton (Pine Tree Records)
- 1980 – Outside Looking Out – Col. Bruce Hampton and the Late Bronze Age (Landslide Records)
- 1982 – Isles of Langerhan – Col. Bruce Hampton and the Late Bronze Age (Landslide Records)
- 1987 – Arkansas – Col. Bruce Hampton (Landslide Records)
- 1992 – Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit – Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit (Capricorn Records)
- 1993 – Mirrors of Embarrassment – Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit (Capricorn Records)
- 1994 – Strange Voices: A History 1977–1987 – Col. Bruce Hampton (Landslide Records)
- 1996 – Fiji Mariners – Fiji Mariners featuring Col. Bruce Hampton (Capricorn Records)
- 1998 – Live – Fiji Mariners featuring Col. Bruce Hampton (Capricorn Records)
- 2000 – Bootleg Live! – The Codetalkers featuring Col. Bruce Hampton
- 2004 – Deluxe Edition – The Codetalkers featuring Col. Bruce Hampton (re-released in 2005 as Dee-lux Uh-dish-un)
- 2006 – Now – The Codetalkers
- 2007 – Give Thanks to Chank – Col. Bruce & The Quark Alliance (Brato Ganibe Records)
- 2008 – Songs of the Solar Ping – Col. Bruce Hampton, Ret. (Brato Ganibe Records)
- 2014 – Pharoah's Kitchen – Col. Bruce Hampton, Ret. (Ropeadope Records)
- 2017 – Live at the Vista Room – Col. Bruce Hampton and The Madrid Express (Ropeadope Records)
With various artists
- 1994 – The Best of Mountain Stage Live, Vol. 6 (Blue Plate Music)
- 1997 – Mucho Mojo: Best of Fat Possum (Capricorn Records)
- 2000 – Wintertime Blues: The Benefit Concert (Evil Teen Records)
- 2003 – Bonnaroo, Vol. 2 (Sanctuary Records)
- 2007 – The Benefit Concert, Volume 2 (Evil Teen Records)
As a guest musician
- 1967 – We're Only In It For The Money – Frank Zappa (Verve Records)
- 1968 – Lumpy Gravy – Frank Zappa (briefly released under Capitol Records)
- 1979 – Skin Deep – Yeah – David Earle Johnson (David Earle Johnson Records)
- 1981 – Route Two – David Earle Johnson (Landslide Records)
- 1995 – The Best of CeDell Davis – CeDell Davis (Fat Possum Records)
- 2000 – The Flower & the Knife – Kevn Kinney (Capricorn Records)
- 2001 – Project Z – Project Z (Terminus Records)
- 2002 – Wait for me – Susan Tedeschi(Tone Cool Records)
- 2002 – Uninvisible – Medeski Martin & Wood (Blue Note Records)
- 2002 – Live in the Classic City – Widespread Panic (Sanctuary Records)
- 2003 – Inside In – Mike Gordon (Ropeadope Records)
- 2006 – Faces – Blueground Undergrass (Landslide Records)
- 2009 - Sold Out - Big Shanty (King Mojo Records)[20]
- 2012 – Back To The Woods: A Tribute To The Pioneers Of Blues Piano – Chuck Leavell (Evergreen Arts \ Red)
- 2012 – Widespread Records)
- 2015 – Soul Brother Where Art Thou? - Greg Hester (Ropeadope Records)
References
- ^ Mele, Christopher; Stevens, Matt (May 2, 2017). "Bruce Hampton, 70, Jam Scene Patriarch, Dies After Collapsing on Stage". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2017-05-03. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
- ^ Palmer, Robert. Recordings; Pop Eccentrics Revisited, New York Times, 21 June 1981. Retrieved on 15 March 2022.
- ^ Freeman, Scott. Col. Bruce to the Rescue, Creative Loafing, 31 January 2007. Retrieved on 03 March 2015.
- ^ Paul, Alan. Col. Bruce Hampton and the ARU: An Appreciation, AlanPaul.net, 05 June 2014. Retrieved on 03 March 2015./
- ^ "Col. Bruce Hampton | Discography", Allmusic, Retrieved on 03 March 2015.
- ^ Marshall, Alli. Smart bets: Col. Bruce Hampton and The Madrid Express, Mountain Xpress, 13 January 2015. Retrieved on 03 March 2015.
- ^ Unterberger, Richie. About Hampton Grease Band, MTV artists, Retrieved on 03 March 2015.
- ^ Neff, Joseph. Graded on a Curve: Hampton Grease Band, Music to Eat, The Vinyl District, 06 February 2014, Retrieved on 03 March 2015.
- ^ The Late Bronze Age - IMDb, IMDb, Retrieved on 03 March 2015.
- ^ On the Cover: H.O.R.D.E 20 Years On, Relix, 04 April 2012, Retrieved on 03 March 2015.
- ^ Paul, Alan. The Jamband Velvet Underground: Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit, Relix, 09 May 2014, Retrieved on 03 March 2015.
- ^ "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" Warren (TV Episode 1998), IMDb, Retrieved on 03 March 2015.
- ^ Dansby, Andrew. Phish Members Release Outside Projects, Rolling Stone, 14 November 2000, Retrieved on 03 March 2015.
- ^ Freeman, Scott. Preview: “Basically Frightened” expertly chronicles long, strange trip of Col. Bruce Hampton Archived February 20, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Arts ATL, 29 March 2012, Retrieved on 03 March 2015.
- ^ Deal awards individuals for achievement in the Arts and Humanities Archived 2015-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, Office of The Governor, 16 October 2012, Retrieved on 08 March 2015.
- ^ Col. Bruce Hampton Chokes on Hamburger in New Run The Jewels Video, jambands.com, 21 November 2014, Retrieved on 03 March 2015.
- ^ France, Lisa; Gallman, Stephanie (3 May 2017). "Bruce Hampton, 'granddaddy of the jam scene,' dies after gig". CNN. update. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
- ^ a b Hillman, Matt (2 May 2017). "Col. Bruce Hampton Passes Away At His Birthday Party". Msicfestnews.com.
- ^ "Beloved musician collapses during birthday concert finale and dies". USA Today. Associated Press. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
- ^ "Big Shanty". Kingmojo.com. Retrieved February 10, 2020.