Lionel Hampton essays

Lionel Hampton essays Lionel Hampton, well known as the King of Vibraphone was born in Louisville, Kentucky on April 12, 1913. He went to school at the Holy Rosary Academy in Kenosha, Wisconsin, studied the Dominican Sisters. His first instrument was the drums; his idol was Jimmy Bertrand who he treasured. Louis Armstrong was a major part in Lionel Hamptons life. In 1930, Louis Armstrong hired him to play the drums at a Los Angeles nightclub. Louis was so impressed that he invited Lionel to join his big band for a recording session. During the break, Armstrong led Hampton to play the vibes and asked him if he knew how to play them, so Lionel Hampton who was schooled to keyboard studies picked up the mallets and played. His first tune was Memories of you it was a tremendous hit and still is today! In 1936, Benny Goodman asked Lionel to join his small group, featuring Good man, Teddy Wilson on piano, and Gene Krupa on drums. They became the Benny Goodman Quartet. They produced the brilliant music and also they were the first racially integrated jazz musicians. The swing era had begun and they came out with Moonglow, Dinah, and Vibraphone Blues were hits. In the early 1940s Lionel Hampton formed his own band. He has music like, Sunny Side of the Street, Central Avenue Breakdown, though his signature tune was Flying Home, and also Hamps Boogie Woogie. He became famous overnight. Their band was called The Lionel Hampton Orchestra. With people like Quincy Jones, Wes Montgomery, Clark Terry, Cat Anderson, Ernie Royal, Joe Newman, and Fats Navarro. Among players there were singers like, Dinah Washington, Joe Williams, Betty Carter, and Aretha Franklin. Some of the awards he had gotten were: American Goodwill Ambassador, bestowed by Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon, The papel Medal (from Pope Paul I), Sixteen Honorary Doctorates, and in 1992 the Kennedy Center Hono ...