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.
Just One Of Those Things
Lionel Hampton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just one of those crazy flings
One of those bells that now and then rings
Just one of those things
It was just one of those nights
Just one of those fabulous flights
A trip to the moon on gossamer wings
If we'd thought a bit before the end of it
When we started painting the town
We'd have been aware that our love affair
Was too hot not to cool down
So goodbye, dear, and amen
Here's hoping we meet now and then
It was great fun
But it was just one of those things
The song "Just One Of Those Things" by Lionel Hampton is a reflective ballad about a love affair that was intense but brief, and eventually faded away. The lyrics are filled with melancholy as the singer looks back on the passionate relationship that has come to an end. The first verse speaks of the relationship as "just one of those things," emphasizing that this type of relationship is not uncommon and has happened before. This hints at the singer's understanding that the relationship may have been fleeting and not meant to last.
The second verse speaks of the intense passion and excitement that the relationship brought. The singer describes it as a "trip to the moon on gossamer wings," which portrays the relationship as something that was ethereal and otherworldly. However, the third verse acknowledges that the relationship was not meant to last. If the couple had taken the time to think about it, they would have realized that their love affair was "too hot not to cool down." This suggests that their love was passionate but unsustainable, and ultimately, they needed to let go.
The final verse concludes the song with the singer bidding farewell to their lover. They express hope that they will meet again, but also acknowledge that their relationship was ultimately just "one of those things." Overall, the song captures the bittersweet emotions of a passionate but fleeting relationship, and the singer's realization that some things are just not meant to last.
Line by Line Meaning
It was just one of those things
This event was nothing special, just something that happens sometimes
Just one of those crazy flings
It was an impulsive and passionate romance that wasn't expected to last
One of those bells that now and then rings
A rare and unexpected event that brings excitement
Just one of those things
A reminder that it was not a unique situation, but a common occurrence
It was just one of those nights
The evening was magical but fleeting
Just one of those fabulous flights
The experience was uplifting and exhilarating
A trip to the moon on gossamer wings
A wonderful and surreal experience
Just one of those things
Again, this was not an extraordinary event but rather common and unpredictable
If we'd thought a bit before the end of it
Looking back, it might have been wise to have considered the potential outcome of the romance before fully embracing it
When we started painting the town
When we began indulging in wild and reckless behavior
We'd have been aware that our love affair
If we had been more self-aware or realistic about the nature of our relationship...
Was too hot not to cool down
...we would have realized that our intense emotions would eventually fade or diminish over time
So goodbye, dear, and amen
The time has come to say farewell, definitively and with respect
Here's hoping we meet now and then
Expressing the desire to encounter each other in the future, without commitment or expectation
It was great fun
The experience was enjoyable and thrilling
But it was just one of those things
Reiterating that this was only a temporary fling and should not be overemphasized or romanticized
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: COLE PORTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind