Rock Rock Rock

Lionel Hampton's big break came when Benny Goodman heard him playing with a small combo in the Paradise Inn in 1936. Benny liked what he heard and persuaded Lionel to record with his band and then go on the road with them as part of the Benny Goodman Sextet later in 1940 the Goodman orchestra temporarily disbanded and that prompted Hampton to form his own band, initially called "Lionel Hampton the Worlds Fastest Drummer And His Orchestra". His band did very well in the wave of big band popularity between 1942 and 1946. When the big bands went into decline in the fifties he fared better than most of his fellow band leaders. He was one of the few able to sustain a large organization. These recordings represent the Lionel Hampton band at it's peak.