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.
Blues in the Mews
Lionel Hampton Lyrics
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When I was in knee pants
My mama done tol' me
Son! A woman'll sweet talk
And give ya the big eye
But when the sweet talkin's done
A woman's a two face
A worrisome thing
The blues in the night
Now the rain's a fallin'
Hear the train a collin'
Whoo-ee (my mama done tol' me)
Hear dat lonesome whistle
Blowin' cross the trestle
Whoo-ee (my mama done tol' me)
A whoo-ee-duh-whoo-ee, ol' clickety clack's
A echoin' back th' blues in the night
The evenin' breeze'll start the trees to cryin'
And the moon'll hide its light
When you get the blues in the night
Take my word, the mockin' bird'll
Sing the saddest kind o' song
He knows things are wrong and he's right
From Natchez to Mobile
From Memphis to St. Joe
Wherever the four winds blow
I been in some big towns
An' heard me some big talk
But there is one thing I know
A woman's a two face
A worrisome thing
Who'll leave ya t'sing the blues in the night
My mama was right, there's blues in the night
In Lionel Hampton's song "Blues in the Mews", the singer reflects on the cautionary advice given to him by his mother when he was younger. The song starts with the mother advising her son that although women may initially seem kind and charming, the reality is that they can be unreliable and may cause heartbreak. The lyrics warn of the difficulties of relationships and how they can lead one to experience the "blues" (a metaphor for sadness or depression), especially at night when everything seems darker and gloomier.
As the song progresses, the mood becomes increasingly sombre, with the sound of rain and a train whistle adding to the melancholic atmosphere. The lyrics suggest that no matter where one goes, one is likely to experience heartbreak and sadness. The song highlights the emotion of the blues, which is often associated with African-American music and culture. The blues is a musical genre that developed in the early 20th century in the African-American communities of the Southern United States. It is characterized by its melancholic sound and lyrics that often reflect the hardships and struggles of life.
Line by Line Meaning
My mama done tol' me
My mother advised me
When I was in knee pants
From a young age
Son! A woman'll sweet talk
My mother warned me that women can beguile with honeyed words
And give ya the big eye
And deceive with seductive looks
But when the sweet talkin's done
After their deceitful talk
A woman's a two face
Women have two sides
A worrisome thing
Which is unsettling
Who'll leave ya t'sing
And leave you singing
The blues in the night
Songs of sadness in the night
Now the rain is a fallin'
With the rain coming down
Hear the train a collin'
Hear the train whistle blowing
Whoo-ee (my mama done tol' me)
As my mother warned me
Hear dat lonesome whistle
Hear that sad whistle
Blowin' cross the trestle
Blowing over the bridge
A whoo-ee-duh-whoo-ee, ol' clickety clack's
The sound of the train echoes
A echoin' back th' blues in the night
Echoing the sadness of the night in its sound
The evenin' breeze'll start the trees to cryin'
When the evening breeze starts blowing, it sounds like the trees are crying
And the moon'll hide its light
The moon will be obscured
When you get the blues in the night
When you feel sad and lonely at night
Take my word, the mockin' bird'll
Believe me, the mockingbird will
Sing the saddest kind o' song
Sing the most mournful song imaginable
He knows things are wrong and he's right
The mockingbird knows about suffering and is correct
From Natchez to Mobile
From the city of Natchez to the city of Mobile
From Memphis to St. Joe
From Memphis to the city of Saint Joseph
Wherever the four winds blow
No matter where the wind goes
I been in some big towns
I have visited some large cities
An' heard me some big talk
And listened to some grandiose words
But there is one thing I know
One thing is certain
A woman's a two face
Women have two sides
A worrisome thing
Which is unsettling
Who'll leave ya t'sing the blues in the night
Who will make you sad and lonely in the night
My mama was right, there's blues in the night
My mother was correct, there is sadness in the night
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HAROLD ARLEN, JOHNNY MERCER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind