Ky birth certificate

Services recently were held at New York's Riverside Church for jazz great Lionel Hampton, who died at 94 of a heart attack at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York.

He was laid to rest with a New Orleans jazz-style funeral procession amid hundreds of friends and fans who accompanied his body carried aboard a horse-drawn hearse.

A pioneering vibraphonist known as one of the greatest band leaders ever, Hampton's career spanned more than half a century. His classic tunes included Flyin' Home, Hamp's Boogie Woogie, On the Sunny Side of the Street and Hey Ba-Ba Re-Bop.

Originally Hampton was a drummer. He learned to play the drums from a nun while in grade school.

His big break came in 1930. During a recording session with late music great Louis Armstrong, Hampton first paired with the vibraphone, an instrument with metal keys and played with mallets.

"There was a set of vibes in the corner," Hampton once recalled. "Louis said, `Do you know how to play it?'"

Hampton didn't. But after 45 minutes of playing on the instrument, Hampton felt comfortable enough to swing in behind Armstrong while recording the classic melody Memories Of You.

He achieved international fame six years later when he joined Benny Goodman's Orchestra. Hampton eventually formed his own big band in 1940. It remained together until 1965.

A cadre of jazz musicians like Clifford Brown, Sonny Rollins, Betty Carter, Dexter Gordon, Joe Williams, Illinois Jacquet, Charles Mingus, Wes Montgomery, Art Farmer and Clark Terry performed under Hampton's tutelage. He was most noted for discovering Dinah Washington in a Detroit nightclub where she worked as a washroom attendant.

Grammy Award-winning music icon Quincy Jones credits Hampton with helping him start his career. Jones was 15 years old when he first worked with Hampton.

"It is difficult to find the words to describe the deep sadness that I have today," said Jones in a written statement. "In our more than 50-year relationship ... Lionel Hampton was the consummate jazz artist ... I cut my teeth writing arrangements for Lionel Hampton, and there was no better school in the world than the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. He taught me how to groove and how to laugh and how to hang and how to live like a man. Heaven will definitely be feeling some backbeat now."

Hampton was among the first Blacks to play at a presidential inauguration, Harry Truman's in 1949. He played at several after that and was honored by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and lauded by President Bill Clinton.

President Bush said of Hampton in an issued statement, "He was an American music legend and will be sorely missed."

In 1997 Hampton escaped a fire that destroyed his 28th floor Manhattan, NY, apartment when a halogen lamp tipped over and ignited bedding in Hampton's apartment. He was not injured, but he lost priceless personal mementos like his piano, a set of drums, vibraphone, a vintage record collection and framed letters from United States presidents dating back to Harry Truman.

Two days after the fire, Hampton received the National Medal of Arts while wearing a borrowed suit, socks and shoes because all of his clothes were destroyed.

His wife, Gladys Hampton, was the single most important influence in his career and life. "God gave me the talent, but Gladys gave me the inspiration," said Lionel, who lived with Gladys in Harlem for more than 30 years prior to her death in 1971 from a sudden illness. The couple had no children.

They met in California in 1932. Throughout their marriage, she encouraged him in every way and helped organize some of his first bands. She abandoned her own career to take charge of his when he was invited to join the Benny Goodman Quartet in 1936.

On their way to New York to join Goodman, the two married in Yuma, AZ. For more than 30 years she was an integral force in his life and the success she had with managing his bands left him with great financial strength.

Hampton became a philanthropist after his wife's death. He built the Hampton Houses, a $13 million complex of apartments for poor families in Harlem. They were named in his wife's honor.

He did not have a copy of his birth certificate, so his age, date of birth and place of birth were open to question throughout his celebrated career. In his 1989 autobiography, Hamp, written by James Haskins, the pioneering vibraphonist said he was born on April 20, 1908, in Louisville, KY.

Hampton also taught at the University of Idaho, where the school of music has been named after him since 1987. He had received more than 17 honorary degrees and also started two record labels, Glad Hamp and Who's Who.

Hampton extensively toured abroad as a goodwill ambassador for the U.S.

Early last year, he donated the vibraphone he played for 15 years to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. When asked why he donated his instrument, he jovially replied, "They gave me a new one."

Even at the age of 93, Hampton was still traveling the world with his 17-piece big band, an orchestra filled with young professionals.

In late February the vibrant music legend led his band at Idaho's annual jazz festival which bears his name. It was his last performance.