Musical Mastermind John Hampton Loses Battle With Cancer

We mourn the loss of critically-acclaimed and award-winning engineer and producer, John Hampton, who passed away last night (Dec. 12) after a battle with cancer. He worked with the likes of the White Stripes, the Raconteurs, the Dead Weather, and the Replacements, and his biggest commercial success came from producing the 1992 debut of the Gin Blossoms, ‘New Miserable Experience.’ He was 61.

In 2005, Hampton first met and worked with Jack White, working on the White Stripes’ fifth full-length, ‘Get Behind Me Satan.’ Hampton was credited with mixing the record and picked up a Grammy in 2006 for ‘Best Alternative Music Album.’

According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, White had a big impact on Hampton. “Jack, without even knowing it ... made me remember the way we used to work it when I first started,” Hampton once said. “Working with analog tape and eight-tracks, doesn’t leave you a lot of options, so you got to commit on the spot.”

Following his work with ‘Get Behind Me Satan,’ Hampton’s involvement with White didn’t end; he went on to work with the Raconteurs in 2007 and the Dead Weather in 2010.

While working at Ardent Studios in Memphis, Hampton contributed to several albums throughout his long tenure there. One of his more notable albums came in the form of the Replacements' fifth studio album, 1987's 'Pleased to Meet Me'; Hampton engineered and mixed the LP.

His resume includes collaborating with dozens of other artists, including Toots Hibbert, Tommy Keene, Alex Chilton, Stevie Ray and Jimmie Vaughn, and Travis Tritt. As the Commercial Appeal reports, he is survived by his wife and three sons.

Diffuser extends our deepest condolences to Hampton’s colleagues, friends and family.

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