“‘Little White Lies’ is one of those songs that sneaks up on you,” Hampton reflects. “I was in my studio one night when it popped into my head almost subliminally. I remembered first hearing the song at Smalls in New York City years ago, and then not really hearing it again since that night.”
What followed was an organic, creative process that reflects Hampton’s artistic philosophy. “I listened through a few versions of the song and started playing through it. It was such a fun song to sing—I pressed record, sang it a couple more times, and now I’m sharing it with you.”
Hampton’s approach to the classic tune was refreshingly spontaneous. “I wasn’t trying to reinvent it. I just sat down and played it the way it felt that day. There’s something beautiful about not overthinking it.”
Hampton’s gift for meeting a song exactly where it needs to be is what has made him an essential collaborator across genres. He has a rare ability to enhance without overshadowing—bringing harmonic sophistication and melodic sensitivity that elevates every project he joins.
Despite its deceptively simple surface, “Little White Lies” reveals sophisticated harmonic complexities that have drawn artists to it for nearly a century. Walter Donaldson’s masterful interplay between major and minor tonalities mirrors the song’s lyrical tension, creating emotional depth that resonates with each new generation of performers.
About Alan Hampton
Hampton has toured, written, and recorded with leading artists across genres, including Andrew Bird, Rufus Wainwright, Chris Thile, Gretchen Parlato, and Robert Glasper. He has toured internationally and performed on major stages, including the Grammy Awards and Disney Hall.
Hampton’s most recent collaboration with Gretchen Parlato, “If It Was,” features his composition from the 2011 Japan tsunami, now given new meaning after the Eaton fires impacted their Altadena community. All proceeds from the track benefit wildfire recovery efforts.
In 2023, he served as Musical Director for Rufus Wainwright’s Folkocracy tour, which included a star-studded performance at Los Angeles’s Disney Hall featuring Chaka Khan, Van Dyke Parks, and Susanna Hoffs. Recruited by Andrew Bird in 2011, Hampton has since played on seven of his albums, including the Grammy-nominated My Finest Work Yet and Hark, which features Hampton’s original composition “Glad.” He performed regularly on Chris Thile’s Live From Here, where he met I’m With Her, with whom he performed at the 2019 Grammys.
As a composer, Hampton and Bird recently scored Chris Pine’s directorial debut, Poolman, starring Danny DeVito, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Annette Bening. In 2021, they scored the Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated documentary Storm Lake. His bass playing is featured on Larry Goldings’s score for the Netflix series Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam CJ Walker.
Hampton has released two solo albums—The Moving Sidewalk and Origami for the Fire—which earned praise from The New York Times’ Ben Ratliff, who wrote: “Alan Hampton is a songwriter who makes you reach for platitudes about ‘good music’… He does that because he’s got loads of talent.”
“Little White Lies” is available on all major streaming platforms on November 14, 2025.
For more information: Website: www.alanhamptonmusic.com Instagram: @alanshampton
Label: BYNK Records Website: www.bynkrecords.com Instagram: @bynkrecords
Media Contact
Clayton Parker, BYNK Records, 1 8602694436, [email protected], www.BYNKRecords.com
SOURCE BYNK Records
