Lionel Leo Hampton (1908–2002), was a U.S. bandleader, jazz percussionist, … Read Full Bio ↴Lionel Leo Hampton (1908–2002), was a U.S. bandleader, jazz percussionist, and vibraphonist.

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.

Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop
Lionel Hampton Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop (Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop)
Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop (Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop)
Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop (Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop)
Hey! Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop (Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop)
Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop (Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop)

Yeah, my baby knows Matilda Brown told ole' King Tut
Say if you can't pay me five, just keep your big mouth shut

Shoutin'

Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop (Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop)
Hey! Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop (Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop)
Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop (Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop)
Ye-es, your baby knows Momma's on the chair, Poppa's on the cot

Baby's on the floor blowin' his natural top
Sayin'
Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop (Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop)
Mmm Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop (Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop)
Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop (Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop)

Ye-es, my baby knows
Up in the mountains, mad as I can be
Lookin' for the cat that took my baby from me
Shoutin'

Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop Mmm
Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop
Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop

Ye-e-es,. my baby knows
Now you've heard this song from start to end

Now take the title once again
Baby, Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop

Overall Meaning

Lionel Hampton's Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop is a fun and upbeat song about a variety of things, from Matilda Brown to cats stealing babies. The lyrics are both nonsensical and playful, showing the improvisation skills that Hampton was known for. The song starts with the repeating line "Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop," which acts as a kind of a refrain and catalyst for the ensuing nonsense.

One of the verses speaks about Matilda Brown, who apparently told King Tut that if he couldn't pay her, he should keep his mouth shut. This line could be seen as a commentary on power dynamics and how certain people can silence others through financial means. Another verse describes a scene in which someone's mother is sitting on a chair, their father is on a cot, and their baby is "blowing his natural top" on the floor. This can be interpreted as a kind of absurdist vision of a dysfunctional family.

Line by Line Meaning

Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop (Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop)
The singer is exclaiming and encouraging the audience to join in with the catchy, repetitive phrase as the song's rhythm.

Yeah, my baby knows Matilda Brown told ole' King Tut
The singer's girlfriend or wife has knowledge of the secret dealings of a woman named Matilda Brown, which implies she keeps informed with the community gossip.

Say if you can't pay me five, just keep your big mouth shut
Matilda Brown warns King Tut to refrain from revealing her secrets if he cannot pay her the agreed-upon amount of money, insinuating that she is involved in illicit activities.

Shoutin' Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop (Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop)
The singer is shouting out repeatedly the catchy phrase of the song, which also serves as a way to generate excitement and encourage crowd participation.

Ye-es, your baby knows Momma's on the chair, Poppa's on the cot
Someone's parents are seated or sleeping, indicating that the person is potentially in a precarious situation like snuck out of their house without their parents knowing.

Baby's on the floor blowin' his natural top
A baby is on the floor, excitedly making noise which may have contributed to waking up the parents, or may not have woken up the parents yet.

Sayin' Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop (Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop)
The baby seems to be joining in with the song, as he/she repeats the catchy phrase.

Ye-es, my baby knows Up in the mountains, mad as I can be
The singer is angry and frantically looking for someone, potentially someone who caused him to lose his baby.

Lookin' for the cat that took my baby from me Shoutin' Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop Mmm
The singer believes someone or something caused him to lose his baby, and angrily shouts out the phrase of the song, almost as an exclamation of anger and frustration.

Now you've heard this song from start to end Now take the title once again Baby, Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop
The singer is reminding the audience of the song they just heard and encouraging them to sing the title phrase once more.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Memory Lane Music Group (Domestic)
Written by: CURLEY HAMNER, LIONEL HAMPTON

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

@Sapp440

4y↑57

PHELPS Badge 12-47

@chrisfilms8674

4y↑12

be-bop ,how are u supposed to dance to that?-roy earle sksk : )

@derbaum5276

4y↑14

How can i help, Detective?

@brandonmalik6641

3y↑3

@@derbaum5276 hhahaha

@btenky

3y↑4

Best game ever !

@jason_l5p

3y↑2

Cole, Cole Phelps

@michaelhengst9034

2y↑16

My Parents used to dance to these wonderful Tunes, now they are both gone, tears in my eyes

@sleeping_mattress13

2y↑1

😔

@CherryCloverBlossom

46w↑1

Keeping you close in prayer ❤ I’m glad you have these beautiful memories

@monalisagilbert7425

2y↑3

My daddy use to love this song when I was a little girl.. I had to be about 7 years old but I never forget the words…

@Dylan-pl6wv

38w↑5

"Operator give me KGPL"

@collinleeAMV

21w

"Putting you through now."

@cornellwilliams5041

2y↑2

I was in the Army and the older NCO’s would sing this as we marched n I loved it and sang it when I was marching my troops

@iemeasproductions09

19w↑1

i love this songgg!! i just listened to it after discovering jazz and this is my favorite jazz song. ❤

@LotusbandicootRR

15w

Always love Lionel Hampton... I'd been on the search for this song for years. Seems like I heard it on some CD my dad had when I was a kid

Unfortunately my most recent memory (aka when I finally heard it again) was when I heard it in my brother's car on a local station, but I'd eaten something my stomach didn't agree with earlier that day so I spent the entire car ride home trying to keep everything down. (Luckily I got home with moments to spare)

@johnholloway2445

8y↑30

60 yrs ago one of our neighborhood kids would sing this song for a nickel all the way through he was about six .funny

@fenderjag114

I had a friend when I was a kid in the '60s who would randomly start singing "Hey ba ba rebop!" for no reason. I never had any idea where it came from until much later,

@jackiechandler6590

3y↑19

LA Noire

@hialeahkid2

3y↑7

Hamptons band was under rated . This was his best recording of this song . he did a few others . Byron

@geraldbaker4019

15w

“This beebop pollaber? How can you dance to it?”

@detectivedickcrispy7819

14w

This man died in 2002....in debt.
Lemme say that again; THIS Man, who was considered a living, breathing dynamo of a performer and artist passed away at the incredible age of 94; and when he died he was in debt.
That is incredibly sad, I think. Lionel dedicated his life to his craft as both musician and entertainer and the fact that he had to leave our world owing anything to anyone doesn't sit right with me.
This was a man who, in my unsolicited opinion, had paid his dues and deserved to cross over and leave our petty, mortal behind as a man that was made whole, with any and all remaining Earthly debits universally considered defunct.
He worked with so many legends and giants. Names like Mingus, Montgomery, Betty Carter, Buddy Rich, The Bird, Aretha Franklin and fucking Clark Terry and Quincy Jones. God Bless you Mr. Hampton, and thank you for bringing us innumerable hours of joy

@kptrpt1

2y↑2

@vicenteleone4970

Show nota 10

@trfesok

9y↑10

Covered by Deep Purple (of all people) for the BBC in 1969. I put this original and that in my DP playlist. Thanks for uploading -- I actually got to see the man and his band in the mid 70's in New Hampshire..

@mxyzptlkdelperu3252

2y↑1

Meet the true original: "Be-Baba-Leba" by Helen Humes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99Z5Nqo4m2U), which has a strong resemblance with "I'm Going Home" by Ten Years After.