FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, and Quincy Jones. In 1992, he was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, and he was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1996.
Awards
- 2021 – Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (posthumous)
- 2001 – Harlem Jazz and Music Festival’s Legend Award
- 1996 – International Jazz Hall of Fame Induction and Award (performed “Flying Home” with Illinois Jacquet and the Count Basie Orchestra)
- 1996 – National Medal of Arts presented by President Bill Clinton
- 1995 – Honorary Commissioner of Civil Rights by George Pataki
- 1995 – Honorary Doctorate from the New England Conservatory of Music
- 1993 – Honorary Doctorate from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore
- 1992 – Inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame
- 1992 – “Contributions To The Cultural Life of the Nation” award from John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
- 1988 – The National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship
- 1988 – The National Association of Jazz Educators Hall of Fame Award
- 1987 – Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from the University of Idaho – UI’s School of Music renamed “Lionel Hampton School of Music”
- 1987 – The Roy Wilkins Memorial Award from the NAACP
- 1986 – The “One of a Kind” Award from Broadcast Music, Inc.
- 1984 – Jazz Hall of Fame Award from the Institute of Jazz Studies
- 1984 – Honorary Doctorate of Music from USC
- 1983 – The International Film and Television Festival of New York City Award
- 1983 – Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the State University of New York
- 1982 – Hollywood Walk of Fame Star
- 1981 – Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Glassboro State College
- 1979 – Honorary Doctorate of Music from Howard University
- 1978 – Bronze Medallion from New York City
- 1976 – Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Daniel Hale Williams University
- 1975 – Honorary Doctorate of Music from Xavier University of Louisiana
- 1974 – Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Pepperdine University
- 1968 – Papal Medal from Pope Paul VI
- 1966 – Handel Medallion
- 1957 – American Goodwill Ambassador by President Dwight D. Eisenhower
- 1954 – Israel’s Statehood Award
Personal life
On November 11, 1936, in Yuma, Arizona, Lionel Hampton married Gladys Riddle (1913–1971). Gladys was Lionel’s business manager throughout much of his career. Many musicians recall that Lionel ran the music and Gladys ran the business.
Around 1945 or 1946, he handed a pair of vibraphone mallets to then-toddler (later jazz musician) Roy Ayers.
During the 1950s he had a strong interest in Judaism and raised money for Israel. In 1953 he composed a King David suite and performed it in Israel with the Boston Pops Orchestra. Later in life Hampton became a Christian Scientist. Hampton was also a Thirty-third degree Prince Hall freemason.
In January 1997, his apartment caught fire and destroyed his awards and belongings; Hampton escaped uninjured.
On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Lionel Hampton among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
1420s
1800s
1850s
1870s
1880s
1920s
1930s
1940s
- 1940: LAURENCE OLIVIER AND VIVIEN LEIGH MARRIED
- BORN 1945: VAN MORRISON (SINGER)
- BORN 1945: ITZHAK PERLMAN (VIOLINIST)
- BORN 1949: RICHARD GERE (ACTOR)
1960s
- 1960: NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL CENTER AND HALL OF FAME CHARTERED, IN BONNER SPRINGS, KANSAS
- DIED 1969: ROCKY MARCIANO (BOXER)
1970s
- BORN 1972: CHRIS TUCKER (ACTOR)
- DIED 1973: JOHN FORD (FILM DIRECTOR)
- BORN 1975: SARA RAMIREZ (ACTRESS)
- 1979: COMET HOWARD-KOOMUR-MICHELS COLLIDED WITH THE SUN
1990s
2000s
COURTESY www.almanac.com
