[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 82 (Tuesday, June 15, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




EXPRESSING SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT LIONEL HAMPTON SHOULD BE HONORED FOR 
                  HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO AMERICAN MUSIC

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 14, 2004

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I challenge my fellow members of Congress, 
as well as my fellow Americans, to listen closely as we walk our 
respective paths today. I ask that as we journey back to our offices, 
and then on to our homes, we keep our ears pricked, attentive to the 
sounds which often go ignored in the clamor of full days and long 
nights. If we are truly mindful, vigilant in our perception of the 
hums, clicks and tones that surround us, some of us might notice that 
within the very rhythm to which we walk, the harmony which paces us on 
our diverse journeys, we find slight hints of ``Flying Home,'' traces 
of ``Stardust,'' and shades of ``Midnight Sun.'' Mr. Speaker, Lionel 
Hampton is more than a giant of jazz and an impassioned servant of his 
community; he is a part of the fabric of this nation, a lasting 
presence in the daily melody of the United States.
  Lionel Hampton spent his youth in Alabama, Wisconsin, and Chicago 
listening to the music of Louis Armstrong and dreaming of a future in 
the budding musical genre called ``jazz.'' After stints on the drums 
and marimba, Hampton took up the vibraphone and set the benchmark for 
excellence on that instrument, for which he became known as the ``Vibes 
President of the United States.
  Because of the racism that permeated the music business in the 1930s 
Hampton's performances were limited to a small number of venues, so he 
partnered with White clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman and set 
about making history, for the first time creating an integrated public 
face of jazz music. Between 1936 and 1940, Hampton and Goodman created 
perhaps the greatest swing recordings of all time: ``Moonglow Opus 1/
2'' and ``Gone With What Wind?'' among the duo's other recordings are 
the gold standards of the Swing Era, and they helped to elevate Hampton 
to the status of a jazz superstar.

  In 1940 Hampton established his own big band, ``Lionel Hampton and 
His Orchestra,'' and it was from this orchestra that the songs of our 
time originated. Audiences swayed and lindy-hopped to ``Hamp's Boogie 
Woogie'' and ``Evil Gal Blues,'' and `Hamp' serenaded the masses while 
breaking down the color line, becoming the first African American to 
play in a number of major hotels and music halls. Hampton's orchestra 
became a training ground for great musicians, graduating legends such 
as Dexter Gordon, Cat Anderson, Charlie Mingus, Quincy Jones, Dinah 
Washington, and Aretha Franklin.
  As much as a presence as Lionel Hampton was in the jazz industry, his 
work in his community was equally if not more potent. He was a goodwill 
ambassador for the United States, appointed by President Eisenhower to 
spread the music of jazz and the message of equality in his many tours 
to Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. He also worked tirelessly 
for his beloved Harlem, founding the Lionel Hampton Development 
Corporation which built quality low- and middle-income housing in New 
York City and Newark, New Jersey. One of his projects, the Gladys 
Hampton Houses, is named for his wife, the illustrious singer Gladys 
Hampton, who died in 1971 after a 35-year marriage.
  Hampton served on the New York City Human Rights Commission and was 
appointed as ``Ambassador of Music'' to the United Nations in 1985. In 
1998, he and Lloyd Rucker founded the Lionel and Gladys Hampton Jazz 
History Education Foundation, an organization that continues in the 
honorable work of teaching disadvantaged young people about jazz. For 
his efforts he received both the Kennedy Center Honor and the National 
Medal of the Arts, and in 1987 the University of Idaho named its School 
of Music after Hampton.
  Lionel Hampton played the vibraphone and flashed his million-dollar 
smile to audiences across the globe almost until the date he succumbed 
to heart failure, Saturday, August 31, 2002. He was a towering figure 
of musical greatness and global renown, but he often bent low to help 
the neediest among us, and for this New York, the African American 
community, and indeed our entire nation is grateful. Our country's 
swing is Hampton's swing, our jazz is Hampton's jazz, and thus there is 
no figure more worthy of honor by this body than Lionel Hampton.
  Again, I entreat us all to listen closely on our daily journeys; I 
dare say that as we walk we might, unwittingly, be paced by the lively 
report of ``Flying Home.''

                          ____________________