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.
On Green Dolphin Street
Lionel Hampton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A man, a maid, a kiss, and then goodbye
Romance was the theme
And we were the players
I never think of this without a sigh
Lover, one lovely day
Love came, planning to stay
The setting for nights beyond forgetting
And through these moments apart memories live in my heart
When I recall the love I found on
I could kiss the ground on Green Dolphin Street
Lover, one lovely day
Love came, planning to stay
Green Dolphin Street supplied the setting
The setting for nights beyond forgetting
And through these moments apart memories live in my heart
When I recall the love I found on
On Green Dolphin Street
The lyrics of Lionel Hampton's "On Green Dolphin Street" reminisce about a past love affair that still holds a special place in the they singer's heart. The song uses vivid imagery to convey how the love unfolded and how it still resonates deeply. It's as if the singer is transported back to that time and place whenever they think of it.
The song is divided into two parts, which are themselves divided into two different verses. In the first part, the singer speaks about the love they shared and how it felt like a dream. The encounter between the two lovers was brief but intense, a moment that held so much promise but ended in a kiss goodbye. Hampton beautifully weaves words that evoke nostalgia and longing. The setting of the love affair, Green Dolphin Street, is a repeated motif that connects both parts of the song. In the second part, the singer continues to reminisce about the past love, and the memories that continue to live in their heart. They express how the memories are so powerful that they could kiss the ground on Green Dolphin Street, a testament to how the place became an essential part of their relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
It seems like a dream, yet I know it happened
Recalling the past makes it feel like a dream, but I acknowledge it was real
A man, a maid, a kiss, and then goodbye
The brief romance involved a man, a woman, a kiss, and a farewell
Romance was the theme
The affair was focused on love and passion
And we were the players
The lovers were the central figures in the romance
I never think of this without a sigh
Remembering the affair still fills me with sadness
Lover, one lovely day
Addressing the ex-lover and recalling the start of their relationship
Love came, planning to stay
Love arrived with the intention of staying for good
Green Dolphin Street supplied the setting
The location of the romance was the famous Green Dolphin Street
The setting for nights beyond forgetting
The place where unforgettable nights occurred
And through these moments apart memories live in my heart
Although apart, memories of the romance are still cherished
When I recall the love I found on
Reflecting on the love discovered
I could kiss the ground on Green Dolphin Street
The romantic attachment to the place is so strong that the ground could be kissed
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Tratore, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: BRONISLAW KAPER, NED WASHINGTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind