In Memoriam

Cal Lampley (1924-2006)

Cal Lampley, a music producer, critic, composer, and educator, died at a hospital in Maryland from complications of multiple sclerosis. He was 82 years old.

Lampley was an accomplished pianist who played at Carnegie Hall. He got a job at Columbia Records as a music tape editor and soon thereafter became a producer working with artists such as Miles Davis, Benny Goodman, Judy Garland, Dave Brubeck, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Mahalia Jackson.

A native of Dunn, North Carolina, Lampley was a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University. After serving in the infantry during World War II, he studied at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City.

In 1968 Lampley left New York to take a position at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. There, he was the conservatory’s first full-time black faculty member. He later joined the faculty at Morgan State University where he taught piano and composition for 18 years. During his time in Baltimore, Lampley hosted a weekly radio program and reviewed classical music for Baltimore’s public television station.

Copyright © 2006. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.