The Hawk : Musicians of the street: A glance into the soundtrack of ...

Musicians of the street: A glance into the soundtrack of the city

Robert Brier, Special to the Hawk
April 4, 2012
Filed under Arts & Entertainment

Long time Philadelphia native Bruce ?Cheesesteak Blues? Hampton has been playing music since he was 12 years old. When I first saw him on a Saturday afternoon in Market East Station, he could not have been happier, singing and playing guitar.

Hampton lived in South Philadelphia for the first two years of his life and then moved to North Philadelphia, where he lived in the Richard Allen Projects. His first musical influence was his cousin, who gave him a flute. Along with the flute and guitar, he plays the saxophone, trumpet, harmonica, drums and piano.

?I started out teaching myself and watched the bands?I just did what they did. Locked myself in my room and had a Reel to Reel Tape Recorder, and I [would tell myself, ?I don?t sound right yet?. And I played everything on one string. Started out playing bass, you know??

After beginning in his room, he began to learn more. He bought a music book and he was able to learn the strings of the guitar. He learned how to read music, and went to choir practice and church.

Along with his cousin, Hampton says that his fifth grade teacher influenced him. He became interested in getting a guitar because of her. When he was in her class, he would play ?Puff the Magic Dragon.? ?My nickname was Puff for awhile,? he recounted. His fifth grade teacher encouraged him to ?play everything.? Through this encouragement, he grew to like a wide variety of music, ranging from Green Day to Louie Armstrong and Nat King Cole. When I asked about which musicians inspired him to start playing, he named Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen.

Of all the instruments he plays, he is the best at guitar. He did not always play by himself; he used to jam with Stanley Clarke and Andy Aaron, two prominent jazz musicians from Philadelphia.
Although he plays a lot, he likes to sing more. He recalled a time when he was in a talent show and performed George Benson?s ?The Greatest? with two other girls. During the performance, he began to sing about love. They were given a standing ovation and the other groups in the talent show left because they could not compete with them.

?I gave people goosebumps. I like doin? that.?
Hampton also finds music to have soothing elements. He has two replaced hips and he recalled a time from last summer when he was in physical therapy. There was a woman in therapy whose right arm had become paralyzed. His singing helped her to recover.

?She said I motivated her?I healed her, just by singing to her, I swear to God?And she write to me every now and then, sends me cookies and all that, you know. I was happy. I said, ?I?m a healer!??
Hampton not only helped the woman at therapy, but he also helps the people walking past him in Market East. He would offer each passerby a hello, his personal way of brightening someone?s day.
Many times, Hampton will also play songs for people that walk by. He will often times play cover songs. On this particular day, he played songs by Jimi Hendrix and Carole King.

Hampton said, ?My thing is to be out just to heal people. That?s my calling I think because God gave us the gift?there?s so many miserable people walking by us, you know. They walk around cursing me out sayin? you such and such. You can?t play. You can?t sing. And I say, ?thank you??We only gonna live for this long. We gonna be dead that long, I mean we gonna be dead a long time. You?ve got to love each other.?

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