Editing Michael Hampton

{{other people|Michael Hampton|Michael Hampton (punk musician)|DJ Magic Mike}}
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{{Infobox musical artist
| name                = Michael Hampton
| image               =
| image_size          =
| caption             =
| background          = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_name          = <!--if different-->
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|1956|11|15|mf=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Cleveland, Ohio]], U.S.
| instrument          = Guitar
| genre               = {{Hlist|[[Rhythm and blues|R&B]]|[[funk]]|[[psychedelic soul]]|[[rock music|rock]]}}
| occupation          = Musician, record producer
| years_active        = 1974–present
| label               = [[Westbound Records|Westbound]], [[Ace Records (UK)|Ace]], [[Casablanca Records]], [[Warner Bros. Records]], [[Columbia Records|CBS Records]], [[P-Vine Records]], [[Capitol Records]], [[Arista Records]], [[Atlantic Records]], [[A&M records]]
| associated_acts     = [[Parliament (band)|Parliament]]-[[Funkadelic]],
[[420 Funk Mob]], [[Kiddo]], [[Dean Ween]]
| website             =
}}

'''Michael Hampton''' (born November 15, 1956) is an American [[funk]]/rock guitarist. He is a member of the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]], inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of [[Parliament-Funkadelic]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://rockhall.com/inductees/parliament-funkadelic/bio/|title=Rock Hall of Fame|website=Rockhall.com}}</ref>

== Career ==
Hampton was born in [[Cleveland, Ohio]], and started his professional career when he was recruited as a seventeen-year-old guitar prodigy by the band [[Funkadelic]], which found itself in need of a lead guitarist after original guitarist [[Eddie Hazel]] left the band. Hampton impressed Funkadelic's [[George Clinton (funk musician)|George Clinton]] by performing a note-for-note rendition of Hazel's ten-minute solo "[[Maggot Brain (song)|Maggot Brain]]". Hampton made his debut with the band's album ''Let's Take It to the Stage'' in 1975, which is dominated by his guitar. Hampton's playing included fuzzy, [[Jimi Hendrix|Hendrix]]-inspired [[Lick (music)|licks]] and wailing [[harmonic]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jpop.com/Michael%20Hampton|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032847/http://www.jpop.com/Michael%20Hampton|url-status=dead|title=Michael Hampton at jpop.com|archive-date=March 4, 2016}}</ref> Due to his young age, Hampton was nicknamed "Kidd Funkadelic".

Hampton became a fixture in Funkadelic, and he continued his role as lead guitarist even during Hazel's sporadic returns to the band. Hampton's performances of "Maggot Brain" — which had become more [[improvisation|improvised]] – became regular features of live [[Parliament-Funkadelic]] shows, and the song became his signature concert performance. The bonus-EP of Funkadelic's ''[[One Nation Under a Groove]]'' (1978) included a live version of the song featuring Hampton. One of his most celebrated performances is the lead guitar solo on the Funkadelic hit single "[[(Not Just) Knee Deep]]" from 1979, as well the title track to the [[Brides of Funkenstein]]'s second album ''[[Never Buy Texas From A Cowboy]]''.

In 1981, Clinton was forced to disband the [[P-Funk]] musical empire due to financial and legal difficulties. In 1993, Hampton performed on the album ''Under the 6'' with Slave Master. Hampton continued to perform on albums released under Clinton's name, which featured many other P-Funk mainstays as well, and he became a member of the [[Parliament-Funkadelic|P-Funk All-Stars]]. In 1998, he released his first solo album entitled ''[[Heavy Metal Funkason]]'' through the [[P-Vine]] label in Japan.

In 2022, Hampton joined [[Chuck Treece]] to form the funk/punk fusion group [[Punkadelic]]. With Hampton on guitar and Treece on bass and drums, Punkadelic performed both original music and Funkadelic covers in Philadelphia, Mexico, and live on the radio at [[WOCM]] Ocean 98 in [[Ocean City, Maryland]]. Punkadelic released two singles and an original EP titled ''Collective Consciousness'' in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.punkadelicmusic.com/|title=Punkadelic|website=Punkadelicmusic.com}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{official website}}
* [{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p83901/credits|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic guide entry for Michael Hampton]
*[https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/michael-hampton Michael Hampton Interview] at [[NAMM Oral History Program|NAMM Oral History Collection]] (2016)

{{P-Funk}}
{{Parliament}}
{{Funkadelic}}
{{1997 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hampton, Michael}}
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Musicians from Cleveland]]
[[Category:American funk guitarists]]
[[Category:American male guitarists]]
[[Category:P-Funk members]]
[[Category:Psychedelic soul musicians]]
[[Category:Guitarists from Ohio]]
[[Category:20th-century American guitarists]]