John Hampton

Video

Oral History Information

Interview Date
Birth Date
Deceased Date
Job Title
Recording Engineer
Company Name
Ardent Studios

John Hampton was a Grammy winning engineer at the Ardent Studios in Memphis, where he worked side by side with the studio's founder, John Fry.  The studio recorded a long list of artists from Stax in the early days when Mr. Fry opened the business.  Over the years the studio was home to many popular albums, several of which were engineered by Mr. Hampton.  These include "Afterburn" by ZZ Top, "Green" by R.E.M, "Family Style" by the Vaughan Brothers as well as Bob Dylan's "Until The Night Is Gone" and the Replacements’ 1987 classic "Pleased to Meet Me." The two John's worked together for nearly 40 years and had a strong personal friendship as well.  John Hampton passed away from cancer on December 12, 2014 at the age of 61.  John Fry died just six days later at the age of 69.