Hampton was born on 20th April 1908 in Louisville, Kentucky, but moved to Chicago as a child, where he began his career as a drummer. He relocated to Los Angeles to play drums in Les Hite's band. They soon became the house band for Frank Sebastian's New Cotton Club, a popular L.A. jazz club.
During a 1930 recording date in the NBC studios in L.A., Louis Armstrong discovered a vibraphone. He asked Hampton if he could play it. Hampton, who knew how to play the xylophone, tried it and they agreed to record a few records with Hamp on vibes. Hampton is credited with popularizing the vibraphone as a jazz instrument.
In the mid-1930s, 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 move to New York City and join Goodman, Teddy Wilson, and Gene Krupa who'd already formed a Benny Goodman Trio within the large band - to expand into the Benny Goodman Quartet. The Trio and Quartet were among the first racially integrated bands to record and play before wide audiences; they were just as well received at Goodman's famous 1938 Carnegie Hall concert as was the full Goodman band.
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 the early 40s he left the Goodman organization to form his own touring band.
Hampton's band fostered the talents of Illinois Jacquet, Dexter Gordon, Ernie Royal, Jack McVea, Charlie Mingus, Monk Montgomery, Wes Montgomery, Quincy Jones, Benny Golson, Fats Navarro, Kenny Dorham, Clifford Brown, Dinah Washington, Betty Carter, Joe Williams, Arnett Cobb, Earl Bostic, and John Colianni among many others.
Hampton's recording of "Flying Home" (1939) with the famous honking tenor sax solo by Jacquet, later refined and expanded by Cobb (1946), is considered by some to be the first rock and roll record. He was known for his tireless energy and his skill on the vibes, drums, and lightning speed two-fingered piano. The bars on the vibraphone are laid out like the piano; Hampton played both instruments the same way.
Beginning in 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 college was renamed the Lionel Hampton School of Music, the first and only university music college to be named after a jazz musician.
Lionel Hampton died of cardiac arrest at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York on 31st August 2002. He was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York.
Begin The Beguine
Lionel Hampton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It brings back the sound of music so tender
It brings back a night of tropical splendor
It brings back a memory ever green
I'm with you once more under the stars
And down by the shore an orchestra's playing
And even the palms seem to be swaying
To live it again is past all endeavor
Except when that tune clutches my heart
And there we are, swearing to love forever
And promising never, never to part
What moments divine, what rapture serene
Till clouds came along to disperse the joys we had tasted
And now when I hear people curse the chance that was wasted
I know but too well what they mean
So don't let them begin the beguine
Let the love that was once a fire remain an ember
Let it sleep like the dead desire I only remember
When they begin the beguine
Oh yes, let them begin the beguine, please make them play
Till the stars that were there before return above you
Till you whisper to me once more, "Darling, I love you"
Then we suddenly know what heaven we're in
When they begin the, begin the, begin the beguine
When they begin the, begin the, begin the beguine
When they begin the beguine
In Lionel Hampton’s song “Begin The Beguine,” he sings about how hearing the song “Begin The Beguine” brings back memories of tender and beautiful moments. He remembers a night of tropical splendor where he and his lover were by the shore, listening to an orchestra play. The sound of the song brings him back to that memory, where they were under the stars, promising never to part. However, he also remembers how those beautiful moments were dispersed once the clouds came along. Now, hearing people curse the chance that was wasted, Hampton knows all too well what they mean.
Hampton begs for the song to not be played anymore, as it only reminds him of the love that was once a fire, but now only an ember. He wants the dead desire to sleep and stay in the past, where it only exists as a beautiful memory. However, he also requests for the song to be played, as he wishes to be taken back to that memory and to hear his lover whisper to him once more that she loves him. In this song, Hampton beautifully captures the bittersweet emotions of remembering a past love.
Line by Line Meaning
When they begin the beguine
The start of the beguine tune is emotional and powerful
It brings back the sound of music so tender
The tune invokes fond memories of romantic music
It brings back a night of tropical splendor
The tune brings to mind a beautiful night in a tropical paradise
It brings back a memory ever green
The tune evokes an enduring and cherished memory
I'm with you once more under the stars
The tune transports me back to a special moment with my lover
And down by the shore an orchestra's playing
In the memory, we are listening to an orchestra near the beach
And even the palms seem to be swaying
The memory includes the swaying of palm trees to the music
To live it again is past all endeavor
Recreating the moment is impossible
Except when that tune clutches my heart
The only way to relive the moment is through the power of the tune
And there we are, swearing to love forever
The memory involves a promise of eternal love
And promising never, never to part
The memory includes a vow to never separate from each other
What moments divine, what rapture serene
The memory is blissful and sublime
Till clouds came along to disperse the joys we had tasted
The happiness of the moment was interrupted by an unfortunate event
And now when I hear people curse the chance that was wasted
Others regret not having had the same experience
I know but too well what they mean
I understand their regret because I too cherish the memory
So don't let them begin the beguine
I don't want to risk spoiling the memory by trying to recreate it
Let the love that was once a fire remain an ember
It's better to let the memory of the experience stay alive in a small way
Let it sleep like the dead desire I only remember
Allow the powerful desire associated with the memory to rest and be remembered fondly
Oh yes, let them begin the beguine, please make them play
Despite the risk, I want to hear the tune and be reminded of the experience
Till the stars that were there before return above you
I want the tune to transport me back to the same moment as before
Till you whisper to me once more, "Darling, I love you"
I want to relive the special moment and hear my lover profess their love to me again
Then we suddenly know what heaven we're in
By reliving the memory, we are transported to a heavenly place
When they begin the, begin the, begin the beguine
The power of the beguine tune is repeated and reinforced
When they begin the beguine
The emotional and powerful beginning of the beguine tune
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: COLE PORTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind