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.
Sweet Lorraine
Lionel Hampton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can't believe it yet, but it's true,
I'll give you just one guess,
My sweet Lorraine said "yes"
Waiting for the time, soon to be,
When the bells will chime merrily,
(I'm so happy,) when it's raining I don't miss the sun,
Just think that I'm the lucky one
Who will lend her down the aisle
Each night I pray
That nobody steals her heart away,
Just can't wait until that happy day,
When I marry sweet Lorraine
Everything is set, skies are blue,
Can't believe it yet, but it's true,
I'll give you just one guess,
My sweet Lorraine said "yes"
Waiting for the time, soon to be,
When the bells will chime merrily,
(I'm so happy,) when it's raining I don't miss the sun,
For it's in my sweeties smile,
Just think that I'm the lucky one
Who will lend her down the aisle
Each night I pray
That nobody steals her heart away,
Just can't wait until that happy day,
When I marry sweet Lorraine
The lyrics of Sweet Lorraine by Lionel Hampton express a feeling of pure happiness and love for the titular character, Lorraine. Everything is perfect and the singer can't wait for the day he marries her. The first stanza implies that he has just proposed to her and she said yes. He is waiting for the day when they will get married, and the bells will chime merrily. The singer could not be happier, even when it's raining, as long as he is with Lorraine, he feels complete.
The second stanza continues with the feeling of happiness and love for Lorraine. The singer knows he is the lucky one who will have the honor of lending her down the aisle on their wedding day. He prays each night that nobody will steal her heart away before they get married. Finally, he can't wait for the day when they will finally be able to say their vows and become one.
Overall, the lyrics of Sweet Lorraine by Lionel Hampton are a beautiful expression of love and happiness. The singer is deeply in love with Lorraine and can't wait to marry her. The song is a celebration of love that warms the heart.
Line by Line Meaning
Everything is set, skies are blue,
The atmosphere is perfect and I am ready for my life-changing moment.
Can't believe it yet, but it's true,
I am so fortunate, but it's hard to believe all of this is actually happening to me.
I'll give you just one guess,
You won't have to guess who said yes to my proposal.
My sweet Lorraine said 'yes'
The love of my life has accepted to spend the rest of her life with me.
Waiting for the time, soon to be,
I am anxiously counting down the days till our wedding.
When the bells will chime merrily,
I am looking forward to the beautiful sound of the bells ringing in our celebration.
(I'm so happy,) when it's raining I don't miss the sun,
Even when things are gloomy, my joy is not dampened because I have my sweet Lorraine by my side.
For it's in my sweeties smile,
Her beautiful smile is all I need to brighten my day and keep me content.
Just think that I'm the lucky one
I am immensely grateful for the blessing and privilege of sharing my life with someone as special as Lorraine.
Who will lend her down the aisle
I feel honored to have the opportunity to escort my beloved partner in the most special moment of her life.
Each night I pray
I am constantly asking God to protect our love and union from any harm or interference.
That nobody steals her heart away,
I hope that our love and commitment will never be threatened or weakened by outside forces.
Just can't wait until that happy day,
I am eagerly anticipating our wedding day since it will be the proud culmination of our love story.
When I marry sweet Lorraine
My heart is overflowing with love and excitement as I look forward to officially becoming the husband of my soulmate, Lorraine.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CLIFF BURWELL, CLIFFORD BURWELL, MITCHELL PARISH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Mezz Mezzrow (cl), not Bechet