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.
Sleepy Time Down South
Lionel Hampton Lyrics
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Why should ev'rybody pity me,
Nighttime's falling, folks are a singin',
they dance till break of day
Dear Old Southland with it's dreamy songs
Takes me back there where I belong
How I'd love to be in mammy's arms
When It's Sleepy Time Down South
Lionel Hampton's song Sleepy Time Down South is a lyrical representation of Hampton's feeling when he was living in a big city where he was all alone, homesick, and tired. He does not understand why people should pity him for his current state, as he reminisces about the times spent back in the Southland, where the dreamy songs and the familiar environment provided him with comfort and a sense of belonging.
As the night wears on, Hampton imagines the people back in Southland singing and dancing till the break of dawn, while he longingly wishes to be in the arms of his mother. The song is a stark contrast between the loneliness and isolation experienced in the big city and the warmth and familiarity of the Southland, which he calls his home. The lyrics are simple and straightforward, but they convey a sense of longing and nostalgia.
Line by Line Meaning
Homesick tired All alone in a big city
Feeling homesick and exhausted while being alone in a large city.
Why should ev'rybody pity me,
Questioning why others should feel sorry for oneself.
Nighttime's falling, folks are a singin',
As the night approaches, people are singing songs.
they dance till break of day
They continue to dance until sunrise.
Dear Old Southland with it's dreamy songs
Expressing fondness for the South, with its imaginative songs.
Takes me back there where I belong
The reminiscence of the South transports the artist back to where they belong.
How I'd love to be in mammy's arms
Yearning for the loving embrace of their mother.
When It's Sleepy Time Down South
When everything is calm and restful in the South.
Lyrics © SHAPIRO BERNSTEIN & CO. INC.
Written by: CLARENCE MUSE, LEON RENE, OTIS RENE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind