Lionel Hampton

Jazz musician

• Born: April 20, 1908
• Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky
• Died: August 31, 2002
• Place of death: New York, New York

Hampton was one of the twentieth century’s most notable jazz musicians, famous for pioneering the use of the vibraphone in jazz music and for his recognizable swing style. During his career, he collaborated with significant jazz artists such as Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker in concerts, on recordings, and on film.

Early Life

Lionel Leo Hampton (LI-uh-nuhl LEE-oh HAMP-tuhn) was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Charles Edward Hampton and Gertrude Morgan Hampton in 1908. During World War I, Hampton’s father was sent to fight in France; his mother subsequently moved her young son to her hometown in Birmingham, Alabama. Hampton spent the remainder of his childhood there and in Chicago, Illinois.

In the 1920’s, Hampton began lessons with Chicago musician Jimmy Bertrand, a percussionist who taught him drums and xylophone. A Roman Catholic, Hampton also played fife and drums at the Holy Rosary Academy in Chicago. His musical career began as a drummer with The Chicago Defender Newsboys Band.

After moving to California in 1924 at the age of sixteen, Hampton began playing with the Les Hite Band; he made his first recording the same year with Reb’s Legion Club Forty-Fives. At the suggestion of Louis Armstrong, Hampton introduced the vibraphone to jazz performance on a 1930 recording of “Memories of You.” In the ensuing years, he played vibraphone and drums with Armstrong’s band at Sebastian’s Cotton Club in Los Angeles. Hampton made his first two film appearances (as himself) in Girl Without a Room (1933) and the Bing Crosby feature Pennies from Heaven (1936). That year, he joined clarinetist Benny Goodman, pianist Teddy Wilson, and drummer Gene Krupa to form the Benny Goodman Quartet, a group that allowed him to play the vibraphone exclusively. From this time forward, he devoted all of his musical attention to the instrument. Joining with the nationally recognized Goodman heightened Hampton’s own fame; the quartet also drew attention as the first racially integrated band in the United States. Hampton toured and recorded with the quartet from 1936 to 1940.

Life’s Work

After leaving the Benny Goodman Quartet in 1940, Hampton formed his own big band, the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. The group had its first major hit, “Flying Home,” in 1942. The piece, which remains one of Hampton’s most influential recordings, includes a driving dance beat and raucous solo by saxophonist Illinois Jacquet, elements that foreshadowed the development of rhythm and blues. Because of the song’s popularity, “Flying Home” became widely regarded as Hampton’s theme song. His band continued to play jazz fused with rhythm and blues from 1945 until the early 1950’s.

In addition to his musical talent, Hampton was a skilled bandleader and showman. His intense performances charmed audiences as he toured with his orchestra around the world. His band, which he used as a training ground to mentor young musicians, continued to tour into the 1990’s.

Hampton’s discography contains more than two hundred recordings, many of which showcase collaborations with the most influential jazz musicians of the 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s, including Goodman, Krupa, Nat King Cole, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, and Charles Mingus. Hampton’s best-known recordings remain “Flying Home” and “Hamp’s Boogie Woogie.”

Hampton also was a noted philanthropist and political activist. In the 1960’s, he founded the Lionel Hampton Development Corporation, which created several public housing projects in New York and New Jersey. He was a committed member of the Republican Party and served as vice chairman of the New York Republican County Committee for many years.

During his life, Hampton was recognized for his contributions to music and society. Notable awards included the National Association of Jazz Educators Hall of Fame Award (1988), Kennedy Center Honor (1992), and the National Medal of Arts, presented by President Bill Clinton (1996). Hampton was named an honorary commissioner of civil rights by New York governor George Pataki in 1995.

Hampton remained active in music until he suffered a stroke while performing in Paris in 1991. The stroke, combined with severe arthritis, forced him to cut back on performances. Hampton died of heart failure in New York City on August 31, 2002.

Significance

Hampton was among the most influential jazz musicians of the twentieth century. During an era of segregated music-making, he was a member of a popular integrated jazz combo. He is remembered for his fusion of jazz and rhythm and blues and for championing the vibraphone in jazz music. He also is remembered as an important philanthropist, mentor, and teacher.

Bibliography

Crouch, Stanley. Flying Home: Celebrating One Hundred Years of Good Vibes. Ann Arbor, Mich.: State Street Press, 2008. This book, published one hundred years after Hampton’s birth, celebrates his life in pictures and brief essays. It includes a CD of eight of the percussionist’s most famous songs.

Hampton, Lionel, and James Haskins. Hamp: An Autobiography. New York: Warner Books, 1989. This informative and entertaining autobiography includes numerous photos and an extensive discography.

Morgenstern, Dan. “Lionel Hampton.” In Living with Jazz, edited by Sheldon Meyer. New York: Pantheon Books, 2004. This thorough discussion of Hampton’s orchestra covers many of the players with whom Hampton worked during his long career.

Shaw, Arnold. Let’s Dance: Popular Music in the 1930’s. Edited by Bill Willard. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Includes a fascinating interview with Hampton in which he discusses his collaborations with Benny Goodman and the song “Flying Home.”