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.
It Might As Well Be Spring
Lionel Hampton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm as jumpy as a puppet on a string
I'd say that I had spring fever
But I know it isn't spring
I am starry-eyed and vaguely discontented
Like a nightingale without a song to sing
Oh, why should I have Spring fever
I keep wishing I were somewhere else
Walking down a strange new street
Hearing words that I have never heard
From a girl I've yet to meet
I'm as busy as a spider spinning daydreams
I'm as giddy as a baby on a swing
I haven't seen a crocus or a rosebud or a robin on the wing
But I feel so gay in a melancholy way
That it might as well be spring
It might as well be spring
The lyrics to Lionel Hampton's song "It Might As Well Be Spring" tap into the feeling of restlessness, anticipation, and yearning for something new. The opening lines, "I'm as restless as a willow in a windstorm, I'm as jumpy as a puppet on a string" set the tone for the song, as the singer feels unsettled and unable to focus. They describe feeling like they have spring fever, but acknowledge that it isn't even spring yet. This juxtaposition of feeling like it should be spring and the reality that it's not yet is a metaphor for the singer's inner turmoil.
The second stanza furthers the idea of longing for something new. The singer feels "starry-eyed and vaguely discontented, like a nightingale without a song to sing." They feel a sense of emptiness or purposelessness, as if they're missing something essential in life. They wish they were somewhere else, perhaps exploring a new place or meeting new people. The line "from a girl I've yet to meet" suggests that they feel like they're missing out on something important, like a connection with someone else.
The final stanza brings together the themes of daydreaming and feeling happy in a melancholy way. The singer describes themselves as "busy as a spider spinning daydreams" and "giddy as a baby on a swing." The lack of typical spring experiences like seeing flowers blooming or birds returning only intensifies their yearning for something new. Despite feeling melancholy, the singer feels happy in their daydreams, suggesting that perhaps the anticipation of something new is enough to bring them joy.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm as restless as a willow in a windstorm
I feel agitated like a willow tree that is swaying in the windstorm relentlessly
I'm as jumpy as a puppet on a string
I feel anxious and nervous like a puppet which is being moved by the strings impatiently
I'd say that I had spring fever
But I know it isn't spring
Although I am feeling the excitement of Spring, I know that it is not the season yet
I am starry-eyed and vaguely discontented
Like a nightingale without a song to sing
I feel dazzled by many things but not fully satisfied like a nightingale which has lost its singing voice
Oh, why should I have Spring fever
When it isn't even spring?
I am questioning myself why I am feeling the rush of Spring when it has not even arrived yet.
I keep wishing I were somewhere else
Walking down a strange new street
Hearing words that I have never heard
From a girl I've yet to meet
I longingly want to be somewhere else, experiencing new sensations, encountering unfamiliar sounds, and meeting unknown people.
I'm as busy as a spider spinning daydreams
I'm as giddy as a baby on a swing
I haven't seen a crocus or a rosebud or a robin on the wing
I am daydreaming wildly like a spider weaving its webs and feeling thrilled and carefree like a baby swinging. Although I haven't seen any signs of Spring yet
But I feel so gay in a melancholy way
That it might as well be spring
I am cheerfully optimistic yet having a tinge of sadness, that I feel like as if it already is Spring
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Tratore, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind