Oral History of Lonnie Hamilton, interviewed by Kieran Walsh Taylor, 16 February, 2017
Title
Oral History of Lonnie Hamilton, interviewed by Kieran Walsh Taylor, 16 February, 2017
Description
Musician, educator, and community leader Lonnie Hamilton III was born in Charleston in 1927. He is a graduate of South Carolina State College and VanderCook College of Music in Chicago. In the interview, Hamilton reflects about growing up and developing his career in the segregated South since his beginnings at Burke High and the Jenkins Orphanage Band. He speaks about his long and gratifying career as an educator, teaching music at Sims High School in Union, South Carolina and at Bonds-Wilson High School in North Charleston, South Carolina, and the many relationships he forged with his students over the years. He talks about the highlights of his performing career: playing daily on Channel 2, attaining the dream to have his own club, Lonnie’s, his successful years playing at Henry’s on North Market Street, and having the opportunity to compose an original song, “Ugly Way Blues” that he performed for the movie Rich in Love. Hamilton recalls the excitement he felt when he listened to jazz music for the first time in a show called Silas Green Minstrel in downtown Charleston and describes playing at Mosquito Beach as a unique and wonderful experience. Hamilton takes pride in his accomplishments, as an educator, as a musician, as a businessperson, and as a City Council member. He affirms he was able to break Charleston’s racial and economic barriers thanks to his saxophone.
Source
Working Charleston
Publisher
The Citadel Archives & Museum
Date
Rights
Materials in The Citadel Archives & Museum Digital Collections are intended for educational and research use. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright. For more information contact The Citadel Archives & Museum, The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, 29409.
Format
application/pdf
Language
English
Type
Text
Identifier
https://citadeldigitalarchives.omeka.net/items/show/613
Coverage
Charleston (S.C.)
Duration
1 hour, 10 minutes
Interviewer
Kieran Walsh Taylor
Interviewee
Lonnie Hamilton
Location
Charleston, South Carolina
Collection
Citation
The Charleston Oral History Program at the Citadel, “Oral History of Lonnie Hamilton, interviewed by Kieran Walsh Taylor, 16 February, 2017,” The Citadel Archives Digital Collections, accessed April 24, 2024, https://citadeldigitalarchives.omeka.net/items/show/613.