Virtue Hampton Whitted

Clarke Hampton was born in Batavia, Ohio, to William and Elizabeth Hampton in 1877, and studied music and art while attending a military academy in Xenia, Ohio.

He married Laura Burford, a native of Richmond, Virginia, in 1908.

Both of Virtue Hampton's parents played musical instruments: Clarke played saxophone and drums; Laura played piano.

Hampton had eleven siblings, three of whom died young.

Her eight surviving siblings included three sisters (Carmalita, Aletra, and Dawn) and five brothers (Clarke Jr. "Duke," Marcus, Russell "Lucky," Maceo, and Locksley "Slide").

Their parents taught each of the Hampton siblings to play at least one musical instrument.

Virtue learned to play the double bass and also sang.

Under their father's leadership, the children began performing in the family's band at an early age.

Virtue Hampton Whitted (February 22, 1922 – January 17, 2007) was an American jazz singer and bassist who is best known for her performances during the 1940s and 1950s as a member of the Hampton family band and The Hampton Sisters, a musical group she formed during World War II with her siblings, Aletra, Carmalita, and Dawn Hampton.

Virtue Hampton was born on February 22, 1922, in Middletown, Ohio, to Laura (Burford) and Clarke "Deacon" Hampton.

The Middletown, Ohio, native began performing at a young age and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1938.

Hampton and her eight siblings performed in Duke Hampton's band, their oldest brother's jazz orchestra, and became a well-known house band at nightclubs in Indianapolis and Cincinnati, Ohio.

The group also toured the United States, playing at venues that included Carnegie Hall, Apollo Theater, and the Savoy Ballroom.

The Hampton family moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1938.

Virtue Hampton married Thomas Whitted Sr., a drummer in the Duke Hampton Orchestra.

In 1938, after an unsuccessful trip to California to find work in the Hollywood film industry, the family relocated to Indianapolis, Indiana, where the Hamptons performed in local clubs went on tour.

The family band took a temporary break during World War II, but Hampton and her sisters, Carmalita, Aletra, and Dawn, formed a short-lived quartet called The Hamptonians and later performed as the Hampton Sisters.

Virtue Hampton said that The Andrews Sisters and The King Sisters were the inspiration for forming their quartet.

When the oldest Hampton brother, Duke, took over as leader of the family band in 1945, following their father's retirement, Virtue Hampton and her sisters joined the group.

After the family's band dissolved in the 1950s, Hampton and two of her sisters, Aletra and Carmalita, performed as the Hampton Sisters for several more years.

(Whitted also played with noted jazz musicians, such as Wes Montgomery and Freddie Hubbard in the 1950s.) The Whitteds marriage of more than fifty years ended in divorce.

Their son, Pharez Whitted, is a Chicago, Illinois, jazz trumpeter and music educator.

When the family band dissolved in the 1950s, Virtue and her two sisters, Carmalita and Aletra, established the Hampton Sisters as a trio and continued to perform for several more years.

Hampton's youngest sister, Dawn Hampton, moved to New York City in 1958 and became a cabaret singer and swing dancer.

The trio reunited in Indianapolis in 1981 after a break of nearly twenty years.

The threesome reunited in 1981, following a nearly twenty-year hiatus.

After Carmalita's death in 1987, Virtue and Aletra Hampton continued to perform as a jazz duo until 2006.

The Hampton family initially formed as the Deacon Hampton's Pickaninny Band, but due to the negative racial connotations, the group changed its name to 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, especially in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana, performing 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, blues, polka, and jazz music.

Hampton and her siblings received Indiana's Governor Arts Award (1991) for their contributions to the state's musical heritage.

In addition, Hampton was inducted into the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation's Hall of Fame (1999), received an honorary doctorate of music degree from the University of Indianapolis (2004), and was a recipient of NUVO newspaper 's Cultural Vision Lifetime Achievement Award (2006).

The Indiana Historical Society released The Hampton Sisters, A Jazz Tribute (2003), a compact disc featuring Virtue and Aletra Hampton.

Members of Hampton's musical family include her son, Pharez Whitted, a jazz trumpeter; her youngest brother, "Slide" Hampton, a NEA Jazz Master; and her sister, Dawn, a New York City cabaret singer and swing dancer.

Their youngest brother, "Slide" Hampton, a 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).

Some sources suggest that they are distant cousins of bandleader Lionel Hampton.

Hampton began performing in her family's band at a young age.

During World War II she formed a quartet with her sisters that eventually became known as the Hamptons Sisters.

The women also performed with the Duke Hampton band, their oldest brother's jazz orchestra.

Hampton and her sister, Aletra, remained active in Indianapolis's jazz community, performing as a duo until 2006.