Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton at the 1979 North Sea Jazz Festival
Background information
Birth name	Lionel Leo Hampton
Also known as	"Hamp", "Mad Lionel"
Born	(1908-04-20)April 20, 1908 Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Died	August 31, 2002(2002-08-31) (aged 94) New York City, New York, United States
Genres	Swing Big band Mainstream jazz New York blues
Occupations	Multi-instrumentalist Actor Composer
Instruments	Vibraphone Drums Piano Vocals
Years active	1927–2002
Labels	Decca
Associated acts	Benny Goodman, Teddy Wilson, Quincy Jones, Louis Armstrong, Gloria Parker

Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Along with Red Norvo, Hampton was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton 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. In 1992, he was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.

Biography [edit]

Early life [edit]

Lionel Hampton was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1908, and was raised by his grandmother. Shortly after he was born, he and his mother moved to her hometown Birmingham, Alabama.^[1][2][3] He spent his early childhood in Kenosha, Wisconsin before he and his family moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1916. As a youth, Hampton was a member of the Bud Billiken Club, an alternative to the Boy Scouts of America, which was off limits because of racial segregation.^[4] During the 1920s—while still a teenager—Hampton took xylophone lessons from Jimmy Bertrand and started playing drums.^[5] Hampton was raised Roman Catholic, and started out playing fife and drum at the Holy Rosary Academy near Chicago.^[6][7]

Early career [edit]

Lionel Hampton began his career playing drums for the Chicago Defender Newsboys' Band (led by Major N. Clark Smith) while still a teenager in Chicago. He moved to California in 1927 or 1928, playing drums for the Dixieland Blues-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. One of his trademarks as a drummer was his ability to do stunts with multiple pairs of sticks such as twirling and juggling without missing a beat.^[8] 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.^[9] Invented ten years earlier, the virbaharp is essentially a xylophone with metal resonators equipped with electric-powered fans that that added vibrato. ^[10]

While working with the Les Hite band, Hampton also occasionally did some performing with Nat Shilkret 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 [edit]

Also in November 1936,^[13] the Benny Goodman Orchestra came to Los Angeles to play the Palomar Ballroom. When John Hammond brought Goodman to see Hampton perform, Goodman invited him to join his trio, which thus became the celebrated Benny Goodman Quartet with Teddy Wilson and Gene Krupa completing the lineup. The Trio and Quartet were among the first racially integrated jazz groups to record and play before wide audiences,^[14][15] and were a leading small-group in an era when jazz was dominated by big bands.

Lionel Hampton Orchestra [edit]

Lionel Hampton during a concert in Aachen (Germany) on May 19, 1977

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]

Hampton's orchestra became 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 anticipated rhythm & blues. Although Hampton first recorded "Flying Home" under his own name with a small group in 1940 for Victor, the best and most famous version is the big band version recorded for Decca on May 26, 1942 in a new arrangement by Hampton's pianist Milt Buckner.^[17] 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. Guitarist Billy Mackel first joined Hampton in 1944, and would perform and record with him almost continuously through the late 1970s.^[18] In 1947 he recorded "Stardust" at a "Just Jazz" concert with Charlie Shavers and Slam Stewart produced by Gene Norman.

From the mid-1940s until the early 1950s, Hampton led a lively rhythm & blues band whose Decca Records recordings included numerous young performers who later achieved fame. They included bassist Charles Mingus, saxophonist Johnny Griffin, guitarist Wes Montgomery, vocalist Dinah Washington and keyboardist Milt Buckner. Other noteworthy band members were trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie, Cat Anderson, Kenny Dorham, and Snooky Young; trombonist Jimmy Cleveland, and saxophonists Illinois Jacquet and Jerome Richardson.

The Hampton orchestra that toured Europe in 1953 included Clifford Brown, Gigi Gryce, Anthony Ortega, Monk Montgomery, George Wallington, Art Farmer, Quincy Jones, and singer Annie Ross. Hampton continued to record with small groups and jam sessions during the 1940s and 1950s, with Oscar Peterson, Art Tatum, Buddy DeFranco, and others. In 1955, while in California working on The Benny Goodman Story he recorded with Stan Getz and Art Tatum for Norman Granz as well as with his own big band.

Hampton performed with Louis Armstrong and Italian singer Lara Saint Paul at the 1968 Sanremo Music Festival in Italy. The performance created a sensation with Italian audiences, as it broke into a real jazz session.^[19] That same year, Hampton received a Papal Medal from Pope Paul VI.

Later career [edit]

President George W. Bush honors Lionel Hampton during a ceremony recognizing Black Music Month in the East Room of the White House on June 30, 2001.

During the 1960s, Hampton's groups were in decline; he was still performing what had succeeded for him during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. He did not fare much better in the 1970s, though he recorded actively on his Who's Who in Jazz record label, which he founded in 1977/1978.^[20][21]

Beginning in February 1984, Hampton and his band played at the University of Idaho's annual jazz festival, which was renamed the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival the following year. In 1987 the UI's school of music was renamed for Hampton, the first university music school named for a jazz musician.

Hampton remained active until a stroke in Paris in 1991 led to a collapse on stage. That incident, 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.^[22][23][24]

Personal life [edit]

On November 11, 1936, in Yuma, Arizona, Lionel Hampton married Gladys Riddle (c. 1910-1971).^[25] Gladys was Lionel's business manager throughout much of his career. Many musicians recall that Lionel ran the music and Gladys ran the business.

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.^[26] Hampton was a Thirty-third degree Prince Hall freemason in New York, also.^[27] In January 1997, his apartment caught fire and destroyed his awards and belongings; Hampton escaped uninjured.^[28]

The grave of Lionel Hampton

Lionel Hampton died from congestive heart failure at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City, on 31 August 2002. He was later interred at 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.^[29][30]

Charity [edit]

Lionel Hampton Houses housing project in Harlem (far right). Photo by Jordan Davis

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.^[31] He served as Vice-Chairman of the New York Republican County Committee for some years^[32] and also was a member of the New York City Human Rights Commission.^[33] Hampton donated almost $300,000 to Republican campaigns and committees throughout his lifetime.^[34]

Awards [edit]

• 2001 - Harlem Jazz and Music Festival's Legend Award
• 1996 - National Medal of Arts presented by President Bill 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 - Inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame
• 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 Humanities from the University of Idaho - UI's School of Music renamed "Lionel Hampton School of Music."
• 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 USC
• 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 Paul VI
• 1966 - George Frederick Handel Medal
• 1957 - American Goodwill Ambassador by President Dwight D. Eisenhower
• 1954 - Israel's Statehood Award

Discography [edit]

Compilations

Filmography [edit]

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Lionel Hampton at the Internet Movie Database
• Lionel Hampton at Drummersworld
• Lionel Hampton at Find A Grave
• Lionel Hampton: His Life and Legacy at University of Idaho
• Lionel Hampton Library Collection, part of the International Jazz Collections at the University of Idaho Library
• Christopher Popa, "Lionel Hampton: Music Was His Fountain of Youth," Big Band Library
• Photos at Jazzhouse.org