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.
The Sheik Of Araby
Lionel Hampton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your love belongs to me.
At night when you're asleep
Into your tent I'll creep.
The stars that shine above,
Will light our way to love.
You'll rule this land with me;
I'm the Sheik of Araby."
The lyrics to Lionel Hampton's song The Sheik of Araby go back to 1921 when the song was originally composed. It is said that the song was made while the songwriters were joking with each other. It became widely popular and has been recorded by many jazz and swing bands. Hampton's version features a fast tempo, with Hamp on vibraphone, Milt Buckner on organ, and Tiny Grimes on guitar.
The lyrics speak of a man who calls himself the Sheik of Araby and claims the love of another person as his own. He promises to sneak into her tent at night and the stars will light their way to love. It is unclear who this person is and it can be inferred that they may not have consented to the Sheik's advances. Furthermore, the Sheik asks the person to rule the land with him, suggesting that he has a position of power.
The Sheik of Araby was one of the most popular songs in the 1920s and 1930s, with its catchy melody and memorable lyrics. Its popularity continues to this day, as it has been covered by countless artists in various genres. Paramount Pictures even produced a film with the same name in 1921.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm the Sheik of Araby
I hold power and authority as the Sheik of Araby
Your love belongs to me
I have claimed your love as my possession
At night when you're asleep
Under the cover of darkness, I will come to you
Into your tent I'll creep
I will enter your dwelling place without your knowledge
The stars that shine above
The celestial bodies in the sky will guide us
Will light our way to love
We will find our path to affection through the stars
You'll rule this land with me
You will share in my power and status as the Sheik of Araby
Lyrics © HARRY B. SMITH COPYRIGHTS, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ted Snyder, Harry B. Smith, Francis Wheeler
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
FrankSCoaching
Yeah !! That's the album which rocks ... (swings?) A Masterpiece !!
Franz Schäfer
One of the best albums of all times - I've been listening to it nearly 30 years, nearly every day!!! Thanks for posting it!!!
sixpencepictures
i never knew of this version and of the meeting of lionel hampton and axel zwingenberger. as if they hav been born as twins: simply great and what a treasure they met and recorded. wonderful! like, like, like charlie f. kohn at sixpence-pictures com photography // design // madrid
Butch Geo
good stuff …. thanks for posting
Alfredo Cristovam de Souza
classic boggie..good for the ears..