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 Don
Lionel Hampton Lyrics
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But I don't stand a ghost of a chance with you!
I thought at last I'd found you, but other lovers surround you
And "I don't stand a ghost of a chance with you!"
If you'd surrender just for a tender kiss or two
You might discover, that I'm the lover meant for you
And I'd be true, but what's the good of scheming
I know I must be dreaming
The lyrics to Lionel Hampton's song "I don't stand a ghost of a chance with you" are about unrequited love. The singer is hopelessly in love with someone, but doesn't believe they have a chance with them. They express their love and desire for the person but acknowledge that they are surrounded by other suitors and that they don't stand a chance. The singer fantasizes about the possibility of the person giving them just a kiss or two, but also realizes that it's unlikely to happen. In the end, the singer acknowledges that their love might just be a dream and that their scheming is pointless.
The lyrics express the feelings of someone who is in love but feels hopeless and discouraged by the circumstances around them. They long for the person they love but also realize that they might not be able to have them, which is a painful and difficult realization to come to terms with. Overall, the song is a sad and poignant expression of unrequited love.
Line by Line Meaning
I need your love so badly, I love you, oh, so madly
I have an intense need for your love and I am deeply in love with you.
But I don't stand a ghost of a chance with you!
I have no chance of being with you, despite my strong feelings for you.
I thought at last I'd found you, but other lovers surround you
I believed I had finally found love with you, but you are surrounded by other lovers.
And "I don't stand a ghost of a chance with you!"
Despite my hopes and desires, I know I cannot be with you.
If you'd surrender just for a tender kiss or two
If you were to give in to your feelings and share a few intimate moments with me,
You might discover, that I'm the lover meant for you
You could potentially realize that I am the true love that you have been searching for.
And I'd be true, but what's the good of scheming
I would be faithful to you, but there is no use in trying to manipulate the situation.
I know I must be dreaming
I understand that my hopes for us to be together are unrealistic, and I am merely dreaming.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BING CROSBY, NED WASHINGTON, VICTOR POPULAR YOUNG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind