Bing Crosby’s influence on popular culture and popular music is considerable, as from 1934 to 1954 he held a nearly unrivaled command of record sales, radio ratings and motion picture grosses. He is usually considered to be a member of popular music’s “holy trinity” of ultra-icons, alongside Elvis Presley and The Beatles.
Bing Crosby popularized singing with conversational ease, or ‘crooning’. His musical interpretations amalgamated rhythm and romance with scat singing, whistling, rhythmic improvisation and melodic paraphrasing as elements of a hotter, sexier sound than had been conceived before.
Crosby is also credited as being the major inspiration for most of the male singers that followed him, including the likes of Frank Sinatra, Perry Como and Dean Martin. Tony Bennett summed up Crosby’s impact, stating, “Bing created a culture. He contributed more to popular music than any other person - he moulded popular music. Every singer in the business has taken something from Crosby. Every male singer has a Bing Crosby idiosyncracy.”
Crosby’s recording of PlayWhite Christmas is recognized as the best-selling single in any music category with over 40 million copies sold.
In 1962, Crosby was the first person to receive the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) was a trumpet player, singer, bandleader, and is widely regarded as one of the most influential artists in the history of jazz.
Armstrong was born and raised in New Orleans, a culturally diverse town with a unique musical mix of creole, ragtime, marching bands and blues. Although from an early age he was able to play music professionally, he never traveled far from New Orleans until 1922, when he went to Chicago to join his mentor, King Oliver. Oliver’s band played primitive jazz, a hotter style of ragtime, with looser rhythm and more improvisation, and Armstrong’s role was mostly backup. Slow to promote himself, he was eventually persuaded by his wife to leave Oliver, and In 1924 he went to New York to join the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. At the time, there were a few other artists using the rhythmic innovations of the New Orleans style, but none did it with the energy and brilliance of Armstrong, and he quickly became a sensation among New York musicians. Back in Chicago in 1925, he made his first recordings with his own group, Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five, and these became not only popular hits but also models for the first generation of jazz musicians, trumpeter or otherwise.
Other hits followed through the twenties and thirties, as well as troubles: crooked managers, lip injuries, mob entanglements, failed big-band ventures. As jazz styles changed though, musical purists never lost any respect for him —although they were sometimes irritated by his hammy onstage persona. Around the late forties, with the help of a good manager, Armstrong’s business affairs finally stablilized and he began to be seen as an elder statesman of American popular entertainment, appearing in Hollywood movies, touring Asia and Europe, and dislodging The Beatles from the #1 position with “Hello, Dolly”. Today more people may know him as a singer (a good one), but as Miles Davis said: “You can’t play nothing on modern trumpet that doesn’t come from him.”
Rockin' Chair
Bing Crosby & Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fetch me that gin, son, 'fore I tan your hide
Can't get from this cabin, goin' nowhere
Just set me here grabbin' at the flies 'round this rockin' chair
My dear old aunt Harriet--in Heaven she be
Send me, sweet chariot, for the end of the trouble I see
Old rockin' chair gets it--Judgement Day is here
Old rockin' chair's got me, son, (rocking chair got you, father)
My cane by my side, (Yes, your cane by your side)
Now fetch me a little gin, son (ain't got no gin, father)
What? 'Fore I tan your hide, now, (you're gonna tan my hide)
You know I can't get from this old cabin (What cabin? Joking)
I ain't goin' nowhere (Why ain't you goin' nowhere?)
Just sittin' me here grabbin' (grabbin')
At the flies round this old rockin' chair (rockin' chair)
Now you remember dear old aunt Harriet (aunt Harriet)
How long in Heaven she be? (She's up in Heaven)
Send me down, send me down, sweet (sweet chariot) chariot
End of this trouble I see (I see, daddy)
Old rockin' chair gets it, son (rocking chair get it, father)
Judgement Day is here too (your Judgement Day is here)
Chained to my rockin', old rockin' chair
The lyrics to Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong's song "Rockin' Chair" describe the plight of an aging man who is stuck in his cabin, unable to move freely due to his physical limitations. He is sitting in his old rocking chair with his cane by his side, and requests his son to fetch him some gin before he "tans his hide." The man laments that he cannot leave his cabin, and is resigned to grabbing at the flies around him while sitting in his rocking chair. He also references his deceased aunt Harriet and asks for a sweet chariot to come and transport him from his troubles.
The lyrics of the song depict the sad reality of aging and the physical limitations that come with it. The man is stuck in his cabin, unable to move freely, and has resigned himself to sit and watch the flies. The reference to aunt Harriet and the sweet chariot allude to death and the hope for release from his physical and emotional pain. The song highlights the value of family and how they are an important part of life.
Line by Line Meaning
Old rockin' chair's got me, son,
The father is metaphorically stuck in a place of stagnation and routine, represented by the 'old rockin' chair.'
My cane by my side,
The father is reliant on his cane for support and stability in his old age.
Now fetch me a little gin, son
The father is requesting alcohol to relieve him from the monotony and boredom of his life.
What? 'Fore I tan your hide, now,
The father is making a playful threat towards his son for not complying with his request.
You know I can't get from this old cabin
The father is physically unable to leave his home due to his age and physical limitations.
I ain't goin' nowhere
The father has accepted his immobility and has no desire to leave his home or current situation.
Just sittin' me here grabbin' (grabbin')
The father is idle and has nothing to do but swat at the flies around his chair.
At the flies round this old rockin' chair
The father's surroundings are rundown and neglected, as evidenced by the presence of flies.
Now you remember dear old aunt Harriet
The father reminisces about his deceased relative, suggesting that he longs for a connection to the past.
How long in Heaven she be?
The father questions how long his aunt has been in the afterlife, emphasizing the passing of time.
Send me down, send me down, sweet (sweet chariot) chariot
The father invokes the image of a heavenly chariot coming to take him away, implying that he is ready to pass on.
End of this trouble I see (I see, daddy)
The father sees his impending death as a release from the burdens of his current life.
Old rockin' chair gets it, son
The father acknowledges that his mortality is catching up with him, represented by the 'old rockin' chair.'
Judgement Day is here too
The father recognizes that his time of reckoning is approaching, and he will be held accountable for his actions.
Chained to my rockin', old rockin' chair
The father feels trapped and confined by his physical limitations and mortality.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: HOAGY CARMICHAEL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Johnnycdrums
I was unaware of that.
Did Jack Teagarden front a big band for a TV special, or TV series?
I seem to remember something like from my childhood.
Another question; Why don't we ever see Louie Armstrong and Red Allen together?
They both were great and from the same era, and when it comes right down to it, I'll take Red Allen, but then again, I'm not a trumpet man.
On another note; In my opinion, Roy Eldridge of The Gene Krupa Band performed the best version of "Rockin' Chair", by far, but it is an instrumental and because of that fact, does not have the same impact or gravitas of Armstrong and Teagarden, except for me, It's that good.
You appreciate Eldridge more after hearing it sung, although I fell in love with the Roy Eldridge iteration way before hearing Louis and Jack, or Hoagy sing it.
@robertpea124
Two gentlemen who had the utmost respect for each other let us enjoy their duet with pure improvisation. Priceless
@bigchungus2063
Nothing better than Louis and Jack ❤️❤️❤️
@paulgibby6932
Epic duo
@bobdillaber1195
I was 16 years old when fate gave me the opportunity to see Louis perform in person at a concert at Notre Dame Univesity. That was in 1956. Something I have never forgotten and never will.
@63Baggies
It's been said by a greater writer than I, that Louis Armstrong was one of the few artists who could record a smile
@wonderwen
So true ! There was such a warmth and joy to his singing ! ❤️
@Timathos
I read your message 8 years later and it will stick with me the rest of my life. You can definitely hear his smile on my old 78’s
@jameswalton3930
@@Timathos A World treasure, America 's "Kang Louie" R.I.P. Mr. Louis Armstrong, you and Gabriel would be a perfect cutting match. 🙂
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@Bfdasmith
Beautiful! Thanks!
@knaziringram4589
"You know you don't drink water father..." great song performed by two truly amazing beings