Lionel Hampton was in the Benny Goodman Band and a gig in 1939 required them to fly from Los Angeles to Atlantic City New Jersey.  It was the first time Hampton had been on a plane. He began whistling a tune while waiting for the plane to taxi and Goodman asked him what it was.  Lionel simply said, “I don’t know. We can call it Flying Home, I guess.” (Hampton later confessed that the tune was a way for him to keep his mind off of the upcoming flight.)  They played it for the first time with the Goodman Quartet that night and later that year Goodman recorded the first version of the song. This rendition was filmed in 1965 and features a baritone sax solo that would have made Gerry Mulligan blush!