What a way to go

American rock legend Col. Bruce Hampton collapsed while performing at his 70^th birthday bash, as band members continued to play.

Considered the godfather of the jamband scene, Hampton lay prone for several minutes while others laughed, believing it to be a stunt.

“At first everyone thought he was messing around,” photographer Michael Weintrob said of the incident. “But he was dying as everyone was playing.”

Hampton was performing at the bash in his honour at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, before he collapsed. He died hours later in Crawford Long Hospital.

“It was an incredible show,” Weintrob said, who photographed Hampton’s last moments. “It’s the greatest encore to go out on. It was very poetic.”

Hampton suffered the heart attack during a lengthy version of Bobby Bland’s Turn on Your Lovelight.

The song was a part of the Grateful Dead’s concert repertoire and was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll”.

It seems fitting that the Grammy Hall of Fame award-winning song was the last tune Hampton played; sharing the stage with friends and fellow musicians, including Blue’s Traveller’s John Popper, who played harmonica as Hampton lay dying.

Hampton’s music career spanned five decades; he appeared on two of Frank Zappa’s albums in 1967 and 1968, respectively.

He soon formed The Hampton Grease Band before going solo and recording a number of albums before starting Aquarium Rescue Unit in 1992 and then Fiji Mariners in 1996.

His last solo album came out in 2014.

Despite Hampton’s health issues and struggles with weight, he continued to perform.  

In a similar case earlier this year, Sib Hashian, rock band Boston’s drummer, died in the middle of a set on stage aboard the Legends of Rock Cruise.

Do you remember Col. Bruce Hampton?