Lionel Hampton

A longtime Republican, he was active in party affairs, campaigning for, among others, Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan and the elder George Bush. Mr. Hampton was born in Louisville, Ky. His birth certificate says he was born on April 20, 1908, said Mr. Leshin, his manager. Some reference sources and public records give birth dates ranging from 1908 to 1914. After Mr. Hampton was sent to the Holy Rosary Academy in Kenosha, Wis., a school for black and Indian children, he began playing drums in a fife-and-drum band. When he was 14, after receiving a set of drums from his grandparents, Mr. Hampton went on the road with the band leader Detroit Shannon. He moved to Los Angeles in 1927 and found work as a drummer with an early incarnation of Les Hite's orchestra, which became the house band at Frank Sebastian's Cotton Club in Culver City, Calif. In 1936 Benny Goodman, along with the pianist Teddy Wilson and the drummer Gene Krupa, heard the band and invited Mr. Hampton to record with them. Shortly afterward Mr. Goodman asked Mr. Hampton to join his orchestra. In 1940, Mr. Hampton formed his own big band. He never lost his touch as a talent scout: his bands included Betty Carter, Arnett Cobb, Johnny Griffin, Clifford Brown, Cat Anderson, Charles Mingus, Wes Montgomery, Dexter Gordon, Quincy Jones, Milt Buckner, Thomas Chapin and Terence Blanchard.