Wesley Hampton

At the church, we were always singing. My three brothers were experts in a popular singing style prevalent in the S.D.A Church. This was quartet or quintet music. They could pick out harmonies, ink them together, and arrange and teach each part, and my oldest brother had perfect pitch and knew immediately if a part was flat. One day, while getting ready for church, my three brothers were trying to sing a quartet song, and they needed another part. I must have been about 11 or 12 years old. My oldest brother sang out the part he wanted me to sing and commanded, “Wes, sing this part.” I sang the part well, completing the cord they were looking for. From that time forward, the 4 Hampton brothers could make magnificent harmony as a quartet. That experience made me fall in love with quartet and quintet accapella male harmony. I joined a church quintet organized by my brother. Later on, at Oakwood University where, this type of music flourished, producing groups like the 8-time Grammy award-winning “Take Six” and winner of the sing-off competition “Committed.” I continued to find myself singing this type of music in a quartet or quintet. I have been singing with the group Five to Life for the past 32 years. This music is like an addiction from which I dont believe there is a recovery. Not experiencing finding something you love so much that it becomes a part of you for the rest of your life; that is how I feel about this music.