Col. Bruce Hampton dead at 70

Col. Bruce Hampton: 1947-2017
Col. Bruce Hampton: 1947-2017 (Image credit: Roger Gupta)

Southern rock guitarist Col. Bruce Hampton has died at the age of 70 after suffering a heart attack.

He had been playing at his 70th birthday concert at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre on Monday evening when he collapsed towards the end of the set. He was rushed to hospital but passed away a few hours later.

Hampton was on stage with Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi when he collapsed, with the Tedeschi Trucks Band later releasing a statement from Hampton’s family on their Facebook page confirming the news.

It reads: “After collapsing on stage surrounded by his friends, family, fans and the people he loved Col. Bruce Hampton has passed away. The family is asking for respect and privacy at this difficult time.”

Born in 1947, Hampton formed Atlanta’s avant-garde Hampton Grease Band and they released their first album Music To Eat in 1971.

He went on to form other groups including The Late Bronze Age, The Aquarium Rescue Unit, The Codetalkers, The Quark Alliance, The Fiji Mariners and Madrid Express.

He also enjoyed a successful career as a guest musician with a wide range of artists, including Tedeschi, who wrote a song about him called Hampmotized in 2002.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.