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.
Dancing On The Ceiling
Lionel Hampton Lyrics
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Because a miracle
Has brought my lover to me
Though he's some other place, his face I see
At night I creep in bed
And never sleep in bed
But look above in the air
He dances overhead
On the ceiling near my bed
In my sight
Through the night
I try to hide in vain
Underneath my counterpane
But there's my love
Up above
I whisper, "Go away, my lover
It's not fair"
But I'm so grateful to discover
He's still there
I love my ceiling more
Since it is a dancing floor
Just for my love
The first line of the lyrics of Lionel Hampton's song Dancing on the Ceiling sets the scene for a magical world- "The world is lyrical." The singer expresses her deep thankfulness for a miracle that has brought her lover to her. She notes that though he is not physically present, she sees his face- "Though he's some other place, his face I see." In the second verse, the singer describes how she cannot sleep in bed because she is always looking up into the air. She feels tremendous joy as she sees her lover dance on the ceiling close to her bed. His presence is visible to her throughout the night.
Line by Line Meaning
The world is lyrical
The world is filled with wonder and beauty
Because a miracle
Because something amazing has happened
Has brought my lover to me
My lover has arrived, even though they are far away
Though he's some other place, his face I see
I can still see my lover's face, even though they are not here with me
At night I creep in bed
I lie in bed at night
And never sleep in bed
I never actually fall asleep
But look above in the air
Instead, I look up and around my room
And to my greatest joy, my love is there
And to my great joy, I see my lover dancing on the ceiling
He dances overhead
My lover dances on the ceiling above me
On the ceiling near my bed
My lover dances above me, near my bed
In my sight
I can see my lover dancing clearly
Through the night
This goes on all night long
I try to hide in vain
I try to hide from my lover's dancing, but it's pointless
Underneath my counterpane
I try to hide under the sheets
But there's my love
But my lover is still there, dancing away
Up above
Dancing on the ceiling, up above me
I whisper, "Go away, my lover
I whisper for my lover to leave me alone
It's not fair"
Because it's not fair that they can be here with me in person
But I'm so grateful to discover
But I'm grateful that I can at least see them, even if they can't be here with me
He's still there
My lover is still dancing on the ceiling
I love my ceiling more
I appreciate my ceiling more now
Since it is a dancing floor
Because my ceiling has become a dance floor for my lover
Just for my love
It's all for the love I have for my partner
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LIONEL B. JR. RICHIE, MICHAEL HENRY JR. FRENCHIK, CARLOS MANUEL RIOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind