(1908-2002) Born in Louisville, KY. Recipient of the Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Undisputed King of the Vibraphone for well over half the century. Hampton formed his own big band in the early 1940s with hit records such as: Sunny Side of the Street, Central Avenue Breakdown, Flying Home, and Hamps Boogie-Woogie.
In addition to his still popular and often performed compositions Midnight Sun, King David Suite, and Blues Suite, Hampton received many coveted awards and honors such as; the Official American Goodwill Ambassador, seventeen Honorary Doctorates, the Gold Medal of Paris, Kennedy Center Honors Award and National Medal of the Arts from the White House in 1997.