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.
I'm Confessin' (That I Love ..
Lionel Hampton Lyrics
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Tell me, do you love me too?
I'm confessin' that I need you,
Honest I do, need you every moment.
In your eyes I read such strange things,
But your lips deny they're true,
Will your answer really change things
Making me blue?
I'm afraid some day you'll leave me,
Saying "can't we still be friends"
If you go, you know you'll grieve me,
All in life on you depends.
Am I guessin' that you love me,
Dreaming dreams of you in vain,
I'm confessin' that I love you, over again.
The lyrics to Lionel Hampton's "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)" are those of a person opening up about their feelings of love and need for someone else. The singer admits to needing the other person every moment and confesses their love. Despite this, they are unsure if the other person feels the same way because of the mixed messages they receive from their eyes and lips. They express their fear of being left behind and reduced to a friendship after being in love. The lyrics indicate frustration and an inability to understand what the other person wants or feels. The singer ends the song by confessing their love once again, leaving the listener wondering if they will ever get a response.
The lyrics of "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)" express themes of love, need, confusion, and fear of abandonment. They speak to the difficulty of interpreting nonverbal communication and the uncertainty that comes with putting oneself out there. Additionally, they evoke a sense of nostalgia or longing for a simpler time when love was pure and straightforward.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm confessin' that I love you,
I am admitting to you that I have deep feelings of affection for you.
Tell me, do you love me too?
Can you also confess to me if you feel the same way towards me?
I'm confessin' that I need you,
I am acknowledging that I cannot live without you and that you are very important to me.
Honest I do, need you every moment.
I truly and sincerely need you every second of every minute of every day.
In your eyes I read such strange things,
I see some confusing and ambiguous signals from you when I look into your eyes.
But your lips deny they're true,
However, you deny what your eyes are telling me with your words.
Will your answer really change things
I wonder if your response to me will affect the situation and the way I feel.
Making me blue?
Will your answer cause me to feel sad and melancholy?
I'm afraid some day you'll leave me,
I have a fear that someday you will choose to depart from our relationship entirely.
Saying "can't we still be friends"
If you do leave, I fear that you may use the common phrase of "let's stay friends" in order to make the transition less painful.
If you go, you know you'll grieve me,
I want you to understand that your departure will cause me such sadness and pain.
All in life on you depends.
You are the most essential part of my life and my happiness lies solely in you.
Am I guessin' that you love me,
I am wondering if my intuition is correct and if indeed you share my love for you.
Dreaming dreams of you in vain,
I often dream of a happy future with you but those dreams may be impossible to realize.
I'm confessin' that I love you, over again.
I am repeating that I truly love you and am willing to confess it anytime for you to know.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HAVEN A. JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind