Lionel Leo Hampton (1908–2002), was a U.S. bandleader, jazz percussionist, … Read Full Bio ↴Lionel Leo Hampton (1908–2002), was a U.S. bandleader, jazz percussionist, and vibraphonist.

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.

Swing Is Here
Lionel Hampton Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

It's very clear, our love is here to stay
Not for a year but ever and a day
The radio and the telephone and the movies that we know
May just be passing fancies and in time may go

But oh, my dear, our love is here to stay
Together we're going a long, long way
In time the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble

They're only made of clay
But our love is here to stay

In time the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble

They're only made of clay
But our love is here to stay

Overall Meaning

Lionel Hampton's song "Love Is Here To Stay" expresses the feeling of true love that lasts forever. The lyrics are simple yet profound, starting with the lines "It's very clear, our love is here to stay. Not for a year, but ever and a day." The song speaks to the universality of love and its endurance over time.

As the song progresses, Hampton juxtaposes the fleeting nature of popular culture - such as the radio, telephone, and movies - with the unchanging nature of true love. He acknowledges that these things may come and go, but true love remains constant. The lyrics "But oh, my dear, our love is here to stay. Together we're going a long, long way," further emphasize the depth of the love that is being sung about.

The final lines of the song, "In time the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble, they're only made of clay, but our love is here to stay," shows the singer's deep conviction in the immortality of love. The use of the metaphor of crumbling monuments serves to underscore this point.

Overall, Lionel Hampton's song "Love Is Here To Stay" speaks to the universal human desire for lasting love and the belief that such a love is possible.

Line by Line Meaning

It's very clear, our love is here to stay
It is undeniable that our love is going to last

Not for a year but ever and a day
Our love is not just temporary, but for eternity

The radio and the telephone and the movies that we know
Entertainment media that we have access to

May just be passing fancies and in time may go
They could be temporary and fleeting, and may eventually disappear

But oh, my dear, our love is here to stay
Our love is never going to end

Together we're going a long, long way
Our love has a long and promising journey ahead

In time the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble
Even the most sturdy and permanent things in the world may not last forever

They're only made of clay
They were also created and molded from something else

But our love is here to stay
Our love is the only thing that will continue forever

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

Josh Campbell

10y↑1

Thanks for including Lionel Hampton in the title--he's the reason I watched this video, lol. He was always an unparalleled, over-the-top showman drummer, besides being possibly the most talented! Also, I recognize one of the actors; he was a regular Columbia cast member on many Three Stooges shorts in the 1930s onward.