The Hampton Sisters

The Hampton sisters were born in Middletown, Ohio, and included Aletra, the oldest of the Hampton family's twelve children, who was born on October 8, 1915; Carmalita; Virtue, born on February 22, 1922; and the youngest sister, Dawn, born on June 8, 1928. Their parents were Laura (Burford), a native of Richmond, Virginia, and Clarke "Deacon" Hampton, a native of Batavia, Ohio. Hampton was born in 1877, studied music and art while attending a military academy in Xenia, Ohio, and worked as a carpenter and teacher. Burford married Hampton in 1908. Both of the Hampton sisters' parents played musical instruments. Clarke Hampton taught himself to play saxophone and drums; Laura Hampton played piano. Although three of the twelve Hampton siblings died young, the sisters' five surviving brothers were Clarke Jr. "Duke," Marcus, Russell "Lucky," Maceo, and Locksley "Slide". The Hampton sisters had no formal musical training, but their parents taught each of the children to play at least one musical instrument. Aletra played piano, Carmalita was a baritone saxophonist, Virtue played the double bass, and Dawn played the alto saxophone. Under their father's leadership, all of the Hampton children began performing in the family band at a young age. In addition to playing instruments, the Hampton sisters became vocal performers. Carmalita specialized in Latin songs, Aletra specialized in jazz and blues music, and Dawn sang ballads. Aletra Hampton married and had children, but the marriage ended in divorce after fourteen years. Her daughter, Paula Hampton, became a drummer-vocalist. Virtue Hampton married Thomas Whitted Sr., a drummer in the Duke Hampton Orchestra; however, the marriage of more than fifty years ended in divorce. Their son, Pharez Whitted, is a jazz trumpeter and music educator in Chicago, Illinois. Carmalita was the mother of two children, but Dawn Hampton remained single and had no children. The sisters' youngest brother, "Slide" Hampton, a noted jazz trombonist, composer, and arranger, is a two-time Grammy Award winner and a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award (2005). ==Career==

The Hampton sisters began performing at a young age as part of the Hampton family band. They also formed a quartet during World War II and performed with the Duke Hampton band, their oldest brother's jazz orchestra. When the band dissolved in the 1950s, Aletra, Carmalita, and Virtue Hampton established themselves as a trio and performed as the Hamptons Sisters for several more years. The trio reunited in 1981 after a nearly twenty-year hiatus. Their youngest sister, Dawn, pursued a solo career as an entertainer in New York City. After Carmalita's death in 1987, Aletra and Virtue Hampton performed as the Hamptons Sisters jazz duo until 2006. Early years The Hampton family's band was initially named Deacon Hampton's Pickaninny Band, but due to the negative racial connotations, it was renamed Deacon Hampton's Family Band (also known as Deacon Hampton and His Band, or Deacon Hampton and the Cotton Pickers). The family traveled the Midwest and the East performing a vaudeville-style act at fairs, carnivals, tent shows, and private parties. In addition to dancing and presenting comedy skits, the band performed a variety of musical genres, including country, swing, rhythm and blues, polka, and jazz. Jazz performers During World War II the family band took a temporary break, but the four Hampton sisters formed a short-lived quartet called The Hamptonians and later performed as the Hampton Sisters in local clubs. When their father retired in 1945 and their oldest brother, Duke, took over as leader of the family band, the sisters joined his fourteen-piece orchestra. In addition to the Hampton siblings, Duke Hampton's swing band included several well-known Indianapolis jazz musicians, such as Alonzo "Pookie" Johnson and Bill Penick on saxophone, trombonist-bass player Eugene Fowlkes, and drummers Sonny Johnson, Dick Dickerson, and Thomas Whitted. According to an later interview with Virtue Hampton, who married Whitted, each member of the group had a role and no one was singled out as the star. Duke Hampton's band later returned to New York to perform at Harlem's Apollo Theater and the Savoy Ballroom. Duke Hampton's band continued to tour the United States and later became the house band at the Cotton Club in Cincinnati, Ohio. When the group was not on tour, the Hampton family home in Indianapolis served as a gathering place for local jazz musicians who came to rehearse with the band. Recording artists In 1954 the Hampton Sisters signed a recording contract. Aletra Hampton also sang on the Hampton family band's recording of "Lonesome Women Blues." Her other notable songs include "Baby Please Be Good To Me" and "The Push," a family favorite. ==Later years==

After Duke Hampton's group disbanded in the 1950s, Dawn Hampton began pursuing a solo career in 1959 as a cabaret singer and, later, a swing dancer in New York City. Aletra, Virtue, and Carmalita Hampton, continued to perform as the Hampton Sisters. Dawn Hampton nearly lost the use of her voice in 1964, but recovered and continued performing for another twenty years. She wrote and recorded "Life Is What You Make It," the title song of her compact disc, as her response to the ordeal. In 1989 she collaborated with Mark Nedler to write music and lyrics for Red Light, a mini-opera that won a Manhattan Association of Cabaret (MAC) award in 1990. She also collaborated on music and lyrics for a play, Madame C. J. Walker, in 1990, and appeared as a dancer in the swing dance scene of Spike Lee's film, Malcolm X (1992). Carmalita Hampton eventually moved to Chicago, Illinois, where she worked for the U.S. Postal Service for seventeen years, retiring in 1978. After returning to Indianapolis in 1981, she reunited with her sisters, Aletra and Virtue, to perform as the Hampton Sisters trio after a hiatus of nearly twenty years. ==Death and legacy==

Carmalita Hampton died in Indianapolis on May 15, 1987; As Aletra Hampton often described her musical family, "We are not what you call musicians, we are musical performers, and there is a difference." For several decades in the mid-twentieth century the Hampton Sisters were especially known in the Indianapolis area for their jazz and swing musical performances. In addition, Dawn Hampton became known in New York City for her performances as a cabaret singer and jazz musician, as well as a songwriter and swing dancer. Critics called her a "singer's singer" and the "Queen of Cabaret." ==Awards and honors==

• The Hampton family were recipients of Indiana's Governor Arts Award in 1991 for their contributions to the state's musical heritage. • In 1999 the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation inducted Aletra Hampton and Virtue Hampton Whitted into their Hall of Fame. • In 2006 Aletra Hampton and Virtue Hampton Whitted were recipients of Indianapolis NUVO newspaper's Cultural Vision Lifetime Achievement Award. • New York's Private Lives magazine recognized Dawn Hampton's career as a vocalist with a Lifetime Achievement in Cabaret Award. ==Discography==

• Aletra Hampton was vocalist on the Hampton family band's recording of "Lonesome Women Blues." She also sang "The Push," written by her brother, " Lucky" Hampton. • The Hampton Sisters, A Jazz Tribute (CD), 2003, Indiana Historical Society. ==Notes==