Lionel Hampton Quotes

“Seemed to me that drumming was the best way to get close to God.”

— Lionel Hampton

“I think I love it more as I get older because I keep getting better on drums, vibes and piano.”

— Lionel Hampton

“Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.”

— Lionel Hampton

“Music was our wife, and we loved her. And we stayed with her, and we clothed her, and we put diamond rings on her hands.”

— Lionel Hampton

“Playing gives me as much good feeling now as it did when I was a bitty kid.”

— Lionel Hampton

“I worked hard learning harmony and theory when I was growing up in Chicago in the 1920s.”

— Lionel Hampton

“The secret is keeping busy, and loving what you do.”

— Lionel Hampton

“Black and white players hadn't appeared together in public before Teddy Wilson and I began working with B.G.”

— Lionel Hampton

Every day I look forward to getting with my instruments, trying new things.

— Lionel Hampton

“Playing is my way of thinking, talking, communicating.”

— Lionel Hampton

I feel honored to have been a part of that dramatic change.

— Lionel Hampton

“So I always figured I'd still be playing at this age.”

— Lionel Hampton

Working with Benny was important for me and for black musicians in general.

— Lionel Hampton

“I'm motivated. The spirit hits me and I just keep going and don't stop. The more I play, the more I can invent, the more ideas come to me.”

— Lionel Hampton

Man, as long as people want to hear Jazz, I'll give it to them.

— Lionel Hampton

“All art is communication of the artists' ideas, sounds, thoughts; without that no one will support the artist.”

— Lionel Hampton

“It's always Jazz. You can put a new dress on her, a new hat, but no matter what kind of clothes she's the same old broad.”

— Lionel Hampton

“Music was our wife and we loved her. We stayed with her, clothed her and put diamond rings on her hands.”

— Lionel Hampton