The Hampton Sisters

The Hampton Sisters were born to Laura and Clark Fielding Hampton whose family first came to Indianapolis in 1938.  All twelve children in the Hampton family played an instrument and performed.  During WWII, several of the Hampton men were called to service and the sisters formed a quartet called The Hamptonians, including Aletra on piano, Virtue on bass, Carmalita on baritone sax and Dawn on alto sax.  They sang, danced and played at many of the nightspots on Indiana Avenue.  Duke, the oldest brother, resurrected the family band after the war and they toured throughout the Midwest and East.  They played the hot spots of New York — the Apollo Theater and the Savoy Ballroom - plus the most memorable and best musical experience at Carnegie Hall in the late ’40s. 

In 1954, the Hampton sisters signed a contract with the Savoy label, recording “My Heart Tells Me”, a slow and sensual ballad, and “Hey Little Boy”, a spicy jump number.  They played all over the city of Indianapolis for two decades with a long engagement of 15 years at Stein’s on North Meridian Street. The Hampton sisters (Aletra, Carmilita, Dawn, and Virtue) were once known as the Hamptonians, but by the late 1960s they had become the Hampton Sister Group. They became a trio and then a duo with sisters Aletra and Virtue performing at Indianapolis events well into their 80s. Aletra and Virtue were honored by the State of Indiana with the Governor’s Arts Award in 1991 for their contribution to Indiana’s musical heritage and inducted into the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2004, both sisters received honorary doctorates in music from the University of Indianapolis.