Dawn Hampton (June 8, 1928 - September 25, 2016) was an American cabaret and jazz singer, saxophonist, dancer, and songwriter.
Dawn Hampton is a distant cousin of Lionel Hampton. She is the sister of Slide Hampton and Virtue Hampton Whitted. She never married and never had children.
Video Dawn Hampton
Biography
Hampton was born on June 8, 1928 in Middletown, Ohio into a family with much musical talent. Her father, Clark Deacon Hampton, Sr., lead a family band comprising his 12 children. From the age of 3, Dawn worked with the family band and vaudeville act. The family traveled through the country as "Deacon Hampton and the Cotton Pickers" playing Ragtime, blues, dixieland and polka.
In 1938, when Dawn was 10 years old, the family settled in Indianapolis where the children got education from the McArthur School of Music.
During World War II, Dawn Hampton founded a short-lived group called The Hamptonians together with her sisters Carmalita (died 1987), Aletra (1915-2007) and Virtue Hampton Whitted (born 1921). After the war she played with her brother Clark "Duke" Hampton's jazz band on saxophone. This band mainly toured the western and southern United States. In 1950, she also performed in Carnegie Hall, the Apollo Theater, and the Savoy Ballroom. She also played in the house band of the Cotton Club in Cincinnati. She then performed together with her sisters as The Hampton Sisters.
After World War II, the 9 remaining family members were part of a 14-piece group. Dawn played alto and tenor saxophones, sang and danced. In 1950, the band played at Carnegie Hall.
In 1958, the band broke up and Dawn moved to New York City to start a career as a songwriter and cabaret singer. She soon became part of the off-Broadway production Greenwich Village, U.S.A. which resided at the Bon Soir musical theater.
In the early 1960s, Hampton was contracted as a singer in the Lions Den nightclub. She suffered some damage to her vocal chords in 1964, but kept performing as a cabaret singer in New York City for another 20 years, although she experienced a loss of vocal volume. She also increased her work as a songwriter and wrote her signature song Life Is What You Make It.
In 1972, Dawn performed at the Continental Baths with artists such as Cab Calloway, Bette Midler, and Barry Manilow.
In 1989, Hampton collaborated with Mark Nadler, writing music and lyrics for the honky-tonk mini-opera Red Light which was given the Manhattan Association of Cabarets award in 1990. Dawn and Mark also collaborated on An Evening with Dawn Hampton which enjoyed an extended run at Don't Tell Mama. Dawn also wrote the music and lyrics for the play Madame C. J. Walker.
In 1992, along with Frankie Manning, Hampton appeared in Spike Lee's movie Malcolm X. Dawn danced with Sonny Allen in the movie.
In the 2000s, Hampton taught workshops all over the world including at the Herräng Dance Camp in Sweden.
In 2011, a documentary called "The Unforgettable Hampton Family" was published that featured the life of her family.
In 2016, Hampton appeared in Alive and Kicking, a documentary about swing.
Maps Dawn Hampton
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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