banjo and the harmonica. Besides being an instrumentalist he was also a composer and singer. Hampton mostly relied on the so-called "coon songs" written by other composers to be performed in a stereotypical representation of African Americans. But he also performed and recorded his own compositions such as "Dat Mouth Organ Coon" from 1904, which is regarded as the first harmonica composition recorded by an African American artist. Two versions of the composition were recorded for different companies in 1904. In Hampton's distinctive harmonica playing can be traced early rudimentary examples of the harmonica technique known as bending, used widely in the later style of blues music. Many of his recordings are in the minstrel tradition of the African Americans in which he was raised, such as "When You Die You Are a Long Time Dead" a "jumpy and swinging tune" among others of Hampton's compositions inspired by gospel and camp songs. Among his most successful work as a composer is "Lindy, Lindy, Sweet As Sugar Cane" which he sold to the husband-and-wife duet Charles Johnson and Dora Dean. In his career he made over 150 phonograph cylinders and 78rpm records, mostly recorded in the United Kingdom and Germany. References Further reading Rainer E. Lotz (1992): Pete Hampton, Laura Bowman & The Darktown Aristocrats In Europe, 1904-1912: A Preliminary Bio-Discography, Canberra, International Discographer, Vol.1, No.1, 1992, pp. 1–13. Jeffrey Green, Rainer E. Lotz & Howard Rye (2013): Black Europe – The sounds and images of black people in Europe pre-1927 Holste-Oldendorf: Bear Family Records, 44-CD-boxed set BCD-16095 (EAN 5-397-102-160950). Contains all known recordings External links Pete Hampton at University of Kentucky Libraries "Dat Mouth Organ Coon" (listen) at Vintage Harmonica 78s 1871 births 1916 deaths African-American male songwriters Vaudeville performers American ragtime musicians American banjoists American blues harmonica players Musicians from Bowling Green, Kentucky American Freemasons Singers from Kentucky Songwriters from Kentucky 19th-century African-American male singers 20th-century African-American male singers