Hampton Grease Band for RIO/Avant Prog

A 1971 one and done (Music To Eat)...and the one they done was a double... US band planted firmly in the Zappa/Beefheart part of left field!
Rumoured their album (on Columbia) was the labels second worse seller ever....although if you see how many copies pop up/have been sold on Discogs for example, even allowing for a re issue, then that must be b/s, although Columbia ditched them pdq!
Zappa signed them, they opened many a show for him, but they imploded before they recorded anything for him.

The full album is on Spotify if you want to check it out.

Get them on here. Now!

^ Suggested twice before when the site was young, in December 2005 and March 2006, though neither suggestion was acted upon.

The second suggestion has quite an extensive biography included, though it has been copied from Richie Unterberger's article about the band at All Music Guide.



Full sized image here.

More info at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampton_Grease_Band, and much more info at https://www.terrascope.co.uk/MyBackPages/HamptonGreaseBand.pdf.

They belong here for sure, and RIO/Avant is almost certainly the place for them:

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m8SrH2QeOxsFqj5PIx0F0mZrqJrJxDIqg.

https://open.spotify.com/album/1ehhbLSKFnX2w1FFO3oFz6.

Edit: I added the band to Awesome Prog in readiness.

Edited by yam yam - June 05 2025 at 21:17

^ The Zeuhl, Avant, RIO Team (ZART) may still insist on an original biography being submitted - as per the artist submission procedure - before they agree to evaluate the band, so if you have the time to put something together in your own words, it might at least lead to the locks and chains being taken off the gates. Once that's happened, I have every confidence that they'll be fully opened in due course!

Brief biog. for The Hampton Grease Band.

The Hampton Grease Band came out of the melting pot that was Atlanta Geo. in the mid to late 60's. Place usually dictates and influences and they did begin as a blues/Southern rock band with an obvious Allman Brothers vibe, who they opened many a show for. They were a 5 piece band with a stable line up over their original five year life, there was a reunion in the mid 2000s, and while it was a basic 2 guitar, bass, drums and vox template, as they morphed out of the blues/rock idiom, trombone, trumpet and sax could and would be employed.
It is always difficult to put the finger on how/when/why a band suddenly absorb outside influences and bring theatre and 'comedy' a la Zappa into a fairly straight ahead sound. I gather it emanated from the front man/vocalist Bruce Hampton (aka Col. Hampton B Coles) when 'bored' with extended guitar jams/work outs but it seemed to 'catch on' and consequently the music veered hard left into Zappa/Beefheart country. How this was meant to translate onto album was a question and answer Columbia discovered to their cost. They were presented with a double LP (Music To Eat) the bands one and only official release and to say it sank without trace is a mighty understatement. Columbia got record stores to file it under Comedy and were stumped on how to push it. It has been claimed to be the labels second worst seller of all time although the number of copies that regularly turn up and get sold on certain sites contradicts this especially after a 1996 CD reissue with some stuff left off the original album included led to a cult re evalution/discovery.
Columbia ditched the band pdq but Zappa quickly signed them and regularly used them as his opening act. HGB didnt help them selves by purposefully provoking their audience. One gig opening for 3 Dog Night they divided the audience down the middle, according to Hampton, into 'those who hated us and those who really hated us'. Maybe Zappa got the answer to the question 'does humour belong in music'? They imploded before they recorded anything for Zappa so remain a one and done cult. But if Zappa and Beefheart are your thing....try them!