Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

, Charles Mingus, and

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

. In 1992, he was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, and he was awarded the

National Medal of Arts The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and Patronage, patrons of the arts. A prestigious American honor, it is the highest honor given to artists and ar ...

in 1996. Hampton was a member of the executive committee of the Writers and Artists for Peace in the Middle East, a pro-Israel group. In 1984, he signed a letter protesting German arms sales to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Biography

Early life

Lionel Hampton was born in 1908 in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, and was raised by his mother. Shortly after he was born, he and his mother moved to her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. He spent his early childhood in Kenosha,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, before he and his family moved to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, 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 Racial segregation is the separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, ...

. During the 1920s, while still a teenager, Hampton took xylophone lessons from Jimmy Bertrand and began to play drums. Hampton was raised

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, and started out playing

fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

and drum at the Holy Rosary Academy near Chicago.

Early career

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. While he lived in Chicago, Hampton saw Louis Armstrong at the Vendome, recalling that the entire audience went crazy after his first solo. 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. During this period, he began practicing on the vibraphone. In 1930

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

came to California and hired the Les Hite band for performances and recordings. Armstrong was impressed with Hampton's playing after Hampton reproduced Armstrong's solo on the vibraphone and asked him to play behind him like that during vocal choruses. So began his career as a vibraphonist, popularizing the use of the instrument in the process. 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 The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. In 1934 he led his own orchestra, and then appeared in the

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

film '' Pennies From Heaven'' (1936) alongside Louis Armstrong (wearing a mask in a scene while playing drums).

With Benny Goodman

Also in November 1936, 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 soon became the Benny Goodman Quartet with pianist Teddy Wilson and drummer Gene Krupa completing the lineup. The Trio and Quartet were among the first racially integrated jazz groups to perform before audiences, and were a leading small group of the day.

Lionel Hampton Orchestra

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 A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

. Hampton's orchestra developed a high profile during the 1940s and early 1950s. His third recording with them in 1942 produced the 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 known version is the big band version recorded for Decca on May 26, 1942, in a new arrangement by Hampton's pianist Milt Buckner. The 78 RPM disc became successful enough for Hampton to record "Flyin' Home #2" in 1944, this time a feature for 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 to the late 1970s. In 1947, Hamp performed " Stardust" at a "Just Jazz" concert for producer Gene Norman, also featuring Charlie Shavers and Slam Stewart; the recording was issued by Decca. Later, Norman's GNP Crescendo label issued the remaining tracks from the concert. Hampton was a featured artist at numerous Cavalcade of Jazz concerts held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles and produced by Leon Hefflin Sr. His first performance was at the second Cavalcade of Jazz concert held on October 12, 1946, and also featured Jack McVea, Slim Gaillard, T-Bone Walker, the Honeydrippers and

. The fifth Cavalcade of Jazz concert was held in two locations, Wrigley Field in Los Angeles and Lane Field in San Diego, July 10, 1949, and September 3, 1949, respectively. Betty Carter,

Jimmy Witherspoon James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues and jazz singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, an ...

, Buddy Banks, Smiley Turner and Big Jay McNeely also played with Hampton. It was at the sixth Cavalcade of Jazz, June 25, 1950, that Hampton's playing precipitated the closest thing to a riot in the show's eventful history. Lionel and his band paraded around the ball park's infield playing ‘Flying High’. The huge crowd, around 14,000, went berserk, tossed cushions, coats, hats, programs, and just about anything else they could lay hands on and swarmed on the field. Dinah Washington, Roy Milton, PeeWee Crayton, Lillie Greenwood, Tiny Davis and Her Hell Divers were also featured. His final Cavalcade of Jazz concert held on July 24, 1955 (Eleventh) also featured Big Jay McNeely, The Medallions, The Penguins and James Moody and his Orchestra. From the mid-1940s until the early 1950s, Hampton led a lively rhythm & blues band whose

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

recordings included numerous young performers who later had significant careers. They included bassist Charles Mingus, saxophonist Johnny Griffin, guitarist Wes Montgomery, vocalist Dinah Washington, and vocal stylist "Little" Jimmy Scott. Other noteworthy band members were trumpeters

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

, Cat Anderson, Kenny Dorham, and Snooky Young, trombonist Jimmy Cleveland, and saxophonists

Jerome Richardson Jerome Richardson (December 25, 1920 – June 23, 2000) was an American jazz musician and woodwind player. He is cited as playing one of the earliest jazz flute recordings with his work on the 1949 Quincy Jones arranged song "Kingfish". Caree ...

and Curtis Lowe. The Hampton orchestra that toured Europe in 1953 included Clifford Brown, Gigi Gryce, Anthony Ortega, Monk Montgomery, George Wallington, Art Farmer,

, and singer Annie Ross. Hampton continued to record with small groups and jam sessions during the 1940s and 1950s, with

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. As a virtuoso who is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz piano, jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordin ...

, Buddy DeFranco, and others. In 1955, while in California working on '' The Benny Goodman Story'' he recorded with Stan Getz and made two albums with 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. That same year, Hampton received a Papal Medal from Pope Paul VI.

Later career

During the 1960s, Hampton's groups were in decline; he was still performing what had succeeded for him earlier in his career. He did not fare much better in the 1970s, though he recorded actively for his Who's Who in Jazz record label, which he founded in 1977/1978. 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. During much of the 1980s, some notable sidemen in Hampton's orchestra included Thomas Chapin, Paul Jeffrey, Frankie Dunlop, Arvell Shaw, John Colianni, Oliver Jackson and George Duvivier. 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. On April 15, 2002, the United States Congress celebrated Hampton's life and "resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That the Congress, on behalf of the American people, extends its birthday greetings and best wishes to Lionel Hampton on the occasion of his 94th birthday." Hampton died at age 94 from congestive heart failure at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City on August 31, 2002. His funeral was held a week later on September 7 and featured a performance by Wynton Marsalis and David Ostwald's Gully Low Jazz Band at Riverside Church in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

; the Saturday procession began at The Cotton Club in Harlem. Speakers at his funeral included U.S. representatives Charles Rangel and John Conyers and former president

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

; Hampton was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

Personal life

On November 11, 1936, in Yuma, Arizona, Lionel Hampton married Gladys Riddle (1913–1971). Gladys was Lionel's business manager throughout much of his career. Many musicians recall that Lionel ran the music and Gladys ran the business. Around 1945 or 1946, he handed a pair of vibraphone mallets to then-five year old (later jazz musician) Roy Ayers. During the 1950s he had a strong interest in

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

and raised money for

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. 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. Hampton was also a Thirty-third degree Prince Hall freemason. In January 1997, his apartment caught fire and destroyed his awards and belongings; Hampton escaped uninjured.

Charity

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 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 Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

. Hampton was a staunch Republican and served as a delegate to several Republican National Conventions. He served as vice-chairman of the New York Republican County Committee for some years and also was a member of the New York City Human Rights Commission. He served as Director of Special Events for

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

's 1976 re-election campaign. Hampton donated almost $300,000 to Republican campaigns and committees throughout his lifetime. However, in 1996 he endorsed Clinton/Gore, saying that the Republican party, which he had joined because it was the party of Lincoln, no longer represented moderates like himself.

Awards

* 2021 – Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (posthumous) * 2001 – Harlem Jazz and Music Festival's Legend Award * 1996 – International Jazz Hall of Fame Induction and Award (performed "Flying Home" with Illinois Jacquet and the Count Basie Orchestra) * 1996 –

presented by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

* 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 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 was 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 USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

* 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 The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...

* 1982 – Hollywood Walk of Fame Star * 1981 – Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Glassboro State College * 1981 – News and Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Musical Direction. * 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 Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...

* 1968 – Papal Medal from Pope Paul VI * 1966 – Handel Medallion * 1957 – American Goodwill Ambassador by President Dwight D. Eisenhower * 1954 – Israel's Statehood Award

Discography

Compilations and original issues

Other compilations

The Chronological ... Classics series

note: every recording by Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra is included in this 12 volume series from the CLASSICS reissue label * ''The Chronological Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra 1937–1938'' (#524) – RCA Victor recordings * ''The Chronological Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra 1938–1939'' (#534) – RCA Victor recordings * ''The Chronological Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra 1939–1940'' (#562) – RCA Victor recordings * ''The Chronological Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra 1940–1941'' (#624) – RCA Victor recordings; first Decca session * ''The Chronological Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra 1942–1944'' (#803) – Decca recordings * ''The Chronological Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra 1945–1946'' (#922) – Decca recordings * ''The Chronological Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra 1946'' (#946) – Decca recordings * ''The Chronological Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra 1947'' (#994) – Decca recordings * ''The Chronological Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra 1949–1950'' (#1161) – Decca recordings * ''The Chronological Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra 1950'' (#1193) – Decca recordings * ''The Chronological Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra 1950–1951'' (#1262) – last two Decca sessions; MGM recordings * ''The Chronological Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra 1951–1953'' (#1429) – includes Hamp's first Norman Granz-produced quartet session (September 2, 1953) with Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, and Buddy Rich.

Glad-Hamp Records

* GHLP-1001 (1961) ''The Many Sides Of Hamp'' * GHLP-3050 (1962) ''All That Twist'n Jazz'' * GHLP-1003 (1962) ''The Exciting Hamp In Europe'' * GHLP-1004 (1963) ''Bossa Nova Jazz'' * GHLP-1005 (1963) ''Recorded Live On Tour'' * GHLP-1006 (1964) ''Hamp In Japan/Live'' * GHLP-1007 (1965) ''East Meets West (Introducing Miyoko Hoshino)'' * GHLP-1009 (1965) ''A Taste Of Hamp'' * GHS-1011 (1967) ''Hamp Stamps'' ncludes "Greasy Greens"* GHS-1012 (1966) ''Hamp's Portrait Of A Woman'' * GHS-1020 (1979) ''Hamp's Big Band Live!'' * GHS-1021 (1980) ''Chameleon'' * GHS-1022 (1982) ''Outrageous'' * GHS-1023 (1983) ''Live In Japan'' * GHS-1024 (1984) ''Ambassador At Large'' * GHS-1025 (1985) ''Sentimental Journey (Featuring Sylvia Bennett)'' * GHS-1026 (1988) ''One Of A Kind'' * GHS-1027 (1987) ''Midnight Blues'' – with Dexter Gordon * GHCD-1028 (1990) ''Cookin' In The Kitchen''

As sideman

With

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

* '' L.A. Is My Lady'' (Qwest, 1984)

Filmography

Hampton appeared as himself in the films listed below.