Another Bowling Green native is Peter Hampton, born in 1871. While not considered a Blues artist during his lifetime, Peter is the first known African American artist to record a harmonica song; because of this, he is considered an early pioneer who paved the way for other Blues artists and harmonica players. During his lifetime, Peter spent minimal time in the United States as he mostly toured in Europe with his theatre touring group known as the “Down in Kentucky Act.”
While there were around 150 early recordings of his, primarily from 1903-1911, most of these have been lost or destroyed. Even with the archival limitations and brief fragments of Peter’s history and life story, his role as an early African American harmonica player helped pave the way for other musicians to follow in his footsteps.