Michael Hampton
The teenage guitar prodigy who defined the searing 'psychedelic' sound of Funkadelic with his revolutionary solo on 'Maggot Brain'.
Born 1956 (age 70)·Musical artist·Birthday: November 15·Baby Boomers
Biography
Michael Hampton stepped into music history as a scared teenager with impossible shoes to fill. At just 17, he was recruited into George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic collective after the departure of Eddie Hazel, the guitarist whose wild style was central to the band's identity. Hampton's trial by fire was the tour supporting the album that featured Hazel's legendary solo on 'Maggot Brain.' He not only learned the solo note-for-note but made it his own, delivering it with a visceral emotional intensity that became a nightly highlight. This cemented his role as the new lead guitarist, the 'second coming' of the Funkadelic guitar sound. For decades, Hampton's searing, melodic, and feedback-drenched lines were the screaming engine atop the P-Funk rhythm machine, contributing to classics like 'One Nation Under a Groove.' His 1997 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the collective was a formal recognition of his crucial role in shaping one of music's most influential and enduring outfits.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Michael was born in 1956, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Michael Was Born
The biggest hits of 1956
#1 Movie
The Ten Commandments
Best Picture
Around the World in 80 Days
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Michael's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1956Born
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1961Started school
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1969Became a teenager
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1972Could drive
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1974Could vote
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1977Turned 21
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1986Turned 30
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 40
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 50
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 60
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Turned 70
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 as a member of Parliament-Funkadelic.
- Became the primary lead guitarist for Funkadelic at age 17, famously performing the iconic solo in 'Maggot Brain' live and on subsequent recordings.
- Played a central role on seminal Funkadelic albums like 'One Nation Under a Groove' and 'Uncle Jam Wants You'.
- His guitar work was integral to the expansive, intergalactic sound of the P-Funk collective throughout the 1970s and beyond.
Did You Know?
He was nicknamed 'Kidd Funkadelic' when he first joined the band due to his young age.
Hampton was still in high school when he began touring with Funkadelic.
He is known for playing a distinctive Gibson Flying V guitar.
Beyond P-Funk, he has collaborated with artists like Bootsy Collins and the band Praxis.
“I had to learn those songs note for note, and then find my own space.”
