Musician collapses during concert finale and dies

Banjo player the Rev. Jeff Mosier said in a tearful Facebook post that the show was joyful, yet eerie.

"And then at the end, Bruce looked like he was jokingly worshipping that young guitar player. And he got down on his knees and I was getting ready to do the same thing. ... I was lucky to know him and I was lucky to be there."

Hampton founded several bands, including the Hampton Grease Band and the Aquarium Rescue Unit, and had a knack for surrounding himself with talented musicians, including Derek Trucks of the Tedeschi Trucks Band and Jimmy Herring of Widespread Panic.

While wealth and fame eluded him, he was widely acknowledged as an influence on other leading musicians. Keyboardist Chuck Leavell of the Rolling Stones, guitarist Peter Buck of R.E.M and drummer Jon Fishman of Phish were among the dozens of performers who honored him on Monday night.

Hampton was also an actor and played the role of a songwriting band manager in Billy Bob Thornton's 1996 film "Sling Blade."
Born Gustav Berglund III in Knoxville, Tennessee, he changed his name to Col. Bruce Hampton as an adult and started his career with Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention, appearing on "We're Only in It for the Money" in 1967 and "Lumpy Gravy" in 1968, according to Variety .

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Hampton showed no sign anything was amiss before his collapse. He appeared on stage early in the four-hour night, conducting and singing with a band. Later, he played and sang several tunes, including "I'm So Glad" as well as "Fixin' to Die," a song he had performed many times before. This time, though, the lyrics turned out to be prophetic:

Feeling funny in my mind, Lord
I believe I'm fixing to die

Well, I don't mind dying

But I hate to leave my children crying

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