'Lionel Leo Hampton' (
April 20,
1908–
August 31,
2002), was an American
jazz vibraphonist,
percussionist,
bandleader and
actor. Like
Red Norvo, he was one of the first real jazz
vibraphone players. '"Hamp"' ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of
jazz musicians, from
Benny Goodman and
Buddy Rich to
Charlie Parker and
Quincy Jones.
Biography
Early life
Lionel Hampton was born in either
Birmingham, Alabama[1][2][3] or
Louisville, Kentucky[4][5][6] in 1908 and was raised by his grandmother, but spent his youth in
Kenosha, Wisconsin before he and his family moved to
Chicago, Illinois in 1916. Please see the for details on the confusion over his birthplace. As a child Hampton was a member of the
Bud Billiken Club, an alternative to the
Boy Scouts of America due to
segregation.
[7] During the 1920s—while still a teenager—Hampton took
xylophone lessons and started playing
drums.
[8] Hampton was raised
Roman Catholic, and started out playing
fife drum at the Holy Rosary Academy near Chicago.
[9]
Early career
Hampton began his career playing drums for the Chicago Defender Newsboy's Band while still a teenager in Chicago, a group that was led by a Major N. Clark Smith. He moved to
California in 1927 or 1928, playing drums for the Dixieland Blue-Blowers. He made his recording debut with The Quality Serenaders led by Paul Howard, then left for
Culver City and drummed for the Les Hite band at Sebastian's Cotton Club. During this period he began practicing on the
vibraphone. In 1930
Louis Armstrong came to California and hired the Les Hite band, asking Hampton if he would play vibes on two songs. So began his career as a vibraphonist, popularizing the use of the instrument ever since.
[10]
While working with the Les Hite band, Hampton also occasionally did some performing with Nat Shilkrer and his orchestra. During the early 1930s he studied music at the
University of Southern California. In 1934 he led his own orchestra, and then appeared in the 1936
Bing Crosby film ''Pennies From Heaven'' alongside Louis Armstrong (wearing a mask in a scene while playing drums).
[11]
With Benny Goodman
Also in November of 1936
[12], the
Benny Goodman Orchestra came to Los Angeles to play the Palomar Ballroom.
John Hammond brought Goodman to see Hampton play. Goodman asked Hampton to join the Benny Goodman Trio, made up of Goodman,
Teddy Wilson, and
Gene Krupa, expanding it into the Benny Goodman Quartet. In 1935 Hampton backed
Billie Holiday with the Goodman orchestra, who was discovered by John Hammond in 1933.
[13] The Trio and Quartet were among the first racially integrated jazz groups to record and play before wide audiences.
[14][15]
While Hampton worked for Goodman in
New York, he recorded with several different small groups known as the Lionel Hampton Orchestra as well as assorted small groups within the Goodman band. In 1940 Hampton left the Goodman organization under amicable circumstances to form his own
big band.
[16]
Lionel Hampton Orchestra
Hampton's orchestra became very popular during the 1940s and early 1950s. His third recording with them in 1942 produced a classic version of "Flying Home", featuring a solo by
Illinois Jacquet that paved the way for
Rhythm & Blues. The selection became very popular, and so in 1944 Hampton recorded "Flying Home, Number Two" featuring
Arnett Cobb. The song went on to become the theme song for all three men.
Hampton's band played in a jazz, merged with rhythm & blues vein from around 1945 to the early 1950s. Represented in recordings on
Decca Records, the band included performers that achieved renown in their own right in the 1950s and 1960s, composer and bassist
Charles Mingus, saxophonist
Johnny Griffin, guitarist
Wes Montgomery, vocalist
Dinah Washington and keyboardist
Milt Buckner. Other noteworthy performers in the orchestra then included trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie,
Cat Anderson,
Kenny Dorham and
Snooky Young, trombonist
Jimmy Cleveland and saxophonists Illinois Jacquet and
Jerome Richardson.
In 1953 the orchestra toured
Europe with
Clifford Brown,
Gigi Gryce,
George Wallington and
Art Farmer in his lineup;
Quincy Jones was arranger/
trumpeter and
Annie Ross sang. Hampton was also a sideman on many recordings during the 1940s and 1950s, performing and recording with
Oscar Peterson,
Art Tatum and
Buddy DeFranco.
[12]
Later career
During the 1960s the public success of Hampton-led groups began to decline. The times were changing, and he was still performing what worked for him during the '30s, '40s and '50s. He did not fare much better in the '70s, though he recorded actively on the Who's Who Record label.
[12]
During the mid-1980s, Hampton and his band started playing at the
University of Idaho's jazz concert, which in 1985 was renamed the
Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. In 1987 the University's music school was renamed the Lionel Hampton School of Music, the first and only university music school to be named for a jazz musician.
Hampton remained active until a 1991 stroke in
Paris forced him to collapse on stage; that, combined with years of chronic
arthritis, forced him to cut back drastically on performances. However, he did play at the
Smithsonian National Museum of American History in 2001 shortly before his death.
[12][9]
Personal life
During the 1950s he had a strong interest in
Judaism and raised money for
Israel. In 1953 he composed a
King David suite and performed it in Israel with the
Boston Pops Orchestra. Later in life Hampton became a
Christian Scientist.
[9] Hampton's wife was his manager throughout much of his career. Many musicians recall that Lionel ran the music and Gladys ran the business. Hampton was a Thirty-three degree
Prince Hall freemason in New York, also.
[22]
Lionel Hampton died from
congestive heart failure on
August 31 2002 in
New York City, and is interred in the
Woodlawn Cemetery,
Bronx, New York. His funeral was held on
September 7,
2002 and featured a performance by
Wynton Marsalis and David Ostwald's Gully Low Jazz Band at
Riverside Church in
Manhattan; the procession began at
The Cotton Club in
Harlem.
[23] Late in 2001 his apartment caught fire and destroyed his awards and belongings; Hampton escaped uninjured.
[9]
Other endeavors
Housing projects
Hampton was deeply involved in the construction of various
public housing projects, and founded the Lionel Hampton Development Corporation. Construction began with the Lionel Hampton Houses in
Harlem, New York in the 1960s, with the help of then
Republican governor
Nelson Rockefeller. Hampton's wife—Gladys Hampton—also was very involved in construction of a housing project in her name—the Gladys Hampton Houses. Gladys died in 1971. In the 1980s, Hampton built another Housing project called Hampton Hills in
Newark, New Jersey. Hampton was a staunch Republican and served as a delegate to several
Republican National Conventions during his lifetime.
[25] He served as Vice-Chairman of the New York Republican County Committee for some years
[26] and also was a member of the New York City Human Rights Commission.
[9]
Awards
★ 2001 - Harlem Jazz and Music Festival's Legend Award
★ 1996 -
National Medal of Arts presented by President
William Jefferson Clinton
★ 1995 - Honorary Commissioner of Civil Rights by
George Pataki
★ 1995 - Honorary Doctorate from the
New England Conservatory of Music
★ 1993 - Honorary Doctorate from the
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
★ 1992 - "Contributions To The Cultural Life of the Nation" award from the
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
★ 1988 -
The National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship
★ 1988 - The National Association of Jazz Educators Hall of Fame Award
★ 1987 -
Honorary Doctorate of Music from Liege University
★ 1987 - Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from the
University of Idaho
★ 1987 - The
Roy Wilkins Memorial Award from the
NAACP
★ 1986 - The One of a Kind Award from
Broadcast Music, Inc.
★ 1984 -
Jazz Hall of Fame Award from the
Institute of Jazz Studies
★ 1984 - Honorary Doctorate of Music from the
University of Southern California
★ 1983 - The International Film and Television Festival of New York City Award
★ 1983 - Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the
State University of New York
★ 1982 -
Hollywood Walk of Fame Star
★ 1981 -
Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from
Glassboro State College
★ 1979 - Honorary Doctorate of Music from
Howard University
★ 1978 -
Bronze Medallion from New York City
★ 1976 -
Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from
Daniel Hale Williams University
★ 1975 - Honorary Doctorate of Music from
Xavier University of Louisiana
★ 1974 - Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from
Pepperdine University
★ 1968 - Papal Medal from
Pope John Paul I
★ 1966 -
George Frederick Handel Medal
★ 1957 - American Goodwill Ambassador by President
Dwight D. Eisenhower
★ 1954 - Israel's Statehood Award
Discography
| Year | Album | Notes | Label |
|---|
| 37–39 | "Hot Mallets, Vol. 1" | - | Bluebird Records |
| 37–39 | "The Jumpin Five, Vol. 2" | - | Bluebird Records |
| 38 | "Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert" | appearance as sideman for Benny Goodman | Columbia Records |
| 39–40 | "Tempo and Swing" | - | Bluebird Records |
| 39–56 | "Greatest Hits" | Selections from above records | RCA Victor |
| 42–63 | "Hamp!" | - | GRP/Decca |
| 37–63 | "The Lionel Hampton Story" | Selections from all records and eras above | Proper |
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role | Director | Genre |
|---|
| 1933 | Girl Without A Room | himself | Ralph Murphy | Comedy |
| 1936 | Pennies From Heaven | himself | Norman Z. McLeod | Comedy/Musical |
| 1937 | Hollywood Hotel | himself | Busby Berkeley | Musical/Romance |
| 1938 | For Auld Lang Syne | himself | ? | Documentary |
| 1948 | A Song Is Born | himself | Howard Hanks | Comedy/Musical |
| 1949 | Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra | himself | Will Cowan | Music |
| 1955 | Musik, Musik and nur Musik | himself | Ernst Matray | Comedy |
| 1955 | The Benny Goodman Story | himself | Valentine Davies | Drama |
| 1957 | Mister Rock and Roll | himself | Charles S. Dubin | Drama/Musical |
| 1980 | But Then She's Betty Carter | himself | Michelle Parkerson | Documentary |
External links
★ Christopher Popa, "Lionel Hampton: Music Was His Fountain of Youth," Big Band Library
[1]
★
Lionel Hampton's Gravesite
★
''Gene Krupa - What's New(s)''
References
1. Current Biography Yearbook: 1972, , Charles, Moritz, H.W. Wilson Company, ,
2. Obituary: Lionel Hampton
3. The Bark of the Dogwood: A Tour of Southern Homes and Gardens, , Jackson, Tippett, The Enolam Group, Inc., ,
4. Lionel Hampton, 1908–2002; After 75 Years Onstage, a Well-Earned Rest Gary Giddins
5. Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame
6. United States Marine Band Hall of Composers
7. The Lost City: The Forgotten Virtues of Community in America, , Alan, Ehrenhalt, Basic Books, ,
8. Classic Jazz, , Scott, Yanow, Backbeat Books, ,
9. "Ibid"; Voce, Steve
10. ''Ibid"; Yanow, Scott
11. Dexter Gordon: A Musical Biography, , Stan, Britt, Da Capo Press, ,
12. "Ibid"; Yanow, Scott. Swing - The Third...
13. New York Modern: The Arts and the City, , William B., Scott, Johns Hopkins University Press, ,
14. Swing, Swing, Swing: The Life & Times of Benny Goodman, , Ross, Firestone, W. W. Norton & Company, ,
15. "Ibid"; Scott, William B.
16. Swing: Third Ear--The Essential Listening Companion, , Scott, Yanow, Backbeat Books, ,
17. "Ibid"; Yanow, Scott. Swing - The Third...
18. "Ibid"; Yanow, Scott. Swing - The Third...
19. "Ibid"; Yanow, Scott. Swing - The Third...
20. "Ibid"; Voce, Steve
21. "Ibid"; Voce, Steve
22. Great Black Men of Masonry, , Joseph, Cox, iUniverse, ,
23. Funeral Services for Lionel Hampton
24. "Ibid"; Voce, Steve
25. Music And History: Bridging The Disciplines, , Jeffrey H., Jackson, University Press of Mississippi, ,
26. Paid Notice: Deaths
HAMPTON, LIONEL
27. "Ibid"; Voce, Steve
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