Lou Donaldson (November 1, 1926) is a jazz alto saxophonist, born in Badin,… Read Full Bio ↴Lou Donaldson (November 1, 1926) is a jazz alto saxophonist, born in Badin, North Carolina. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop era, heavily influenced by Charlie Parker.

Donaldson attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro in the early 1940s. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was trained at the Great Lakes bases in Chicago, where he was introduced to bop music in the lively club scene there. At the war's conclusion, he returned to Greensboro, where he worked club dates with the Rhythm Vets, a combo composed of A and T students who had served in the U.S. Navy. The band recorded the soundtrack to a musical comedy featurette, "Pitch a Boogie Woogie," in Greenville, North Carolina, in the summer of 1947. The movie had a limited run at black audience theatres in 1948 but its production company, Lord-Warner Pictures, folded and never made another film. "Pitch a Boogie Woogie" was subsequently restored by the American Film Institute in 1985 and re-premiered on the campus of East Carolina University in Greenville the following year. Donaldson and the surviving members of the Vets performed a reunion concert after the film's showing. In the documentary made on "Pitch" by UNC-TV, "Boogie in Black and White", Donaldson and his musical cohorts recall the film's making—he originally believed that he had played clarinet on the soundtrack. A short piece of concert footage from a gig in Fayetteville, North Carolina, is included in the documentary.

Donaldson's first jazz recordings were with the Charlie Singleton Orchestra in 1950 and then with bop emissaries Milt Jackson and Thelonious Monk in 1952, and he participated in several small groups with other jazz luminaries such as trumpeter Blue Mitchell, pianist Horace Silver and drummer Art Blakey.

In 1953, he also recorded sessions with the trumpet virtuoso Clifford Brown, and Philly Joe Jones.
He was a member of Art Blakey's Quintet and appeared on some of their best regarded albums, including the two albums recorded at Birdland in February 1954 Night at Birdland.
Donaldson has recorded in the bop, hard bop, and soul jazz genres. For many years his pianist was Herman Foster.
He was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame on October 11, 2012.

A Foggy Day
Lou Donaldson Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I was a stranger in the city
Out of town were the people I knew
I had that feeling of self-pity
What to do, what to do, what to do
The outlook was decidedly blue

But as I walked through the foggy streets alone
It turned out to be the luckiest day I've known

A foggy day, in London town
Had me low, had me down
I viewed the morning, with much alarm
British Museum, had lost its charm

How long I wondered,
Could this thing last
But the age of miracles, hadn't past
For suddenly, I saw you there
And through foggy London town,
The sun was shining everywhere

For suddenly, I saw you there
And through foggy London town,
The sun was shining everywhere

Everywhere

Everywhere
Everywhere

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Lou Donaldson’s “A Foggy Day” portray a person who feels lost and alone in a city that is foreign to them. The character is out of town and knows nobody, which leads to self-pity and feelings of despair. The viewpoint of the setting is described as a very gloomy outlook, but as the singer walks through the streets of the city, the luckiest thing happens to them.

The fog in London town had the character feeling down and out, but eventually turned into a stroke of luck when they saw someone they were familiar with. The sun suddenly reappeared on this foggy day, and everything seemed to fall into place. The British Museum which had lost its charm now glistened and shone in the sun's rays. The character's negative attitude improved so much that they saw the sun not only shining on their immediate surrounding but on the entire city.

All in all, the song teaches a valuable lesson about rising from despair and finding joy in the small things. People go through dark days, but if they keep walking, they might encounter a stroke of luck that turns everything around.

Line by Line Meaning

I was a stranger in the city
I didn't know anyone in the city.

Out of town were the people I knew
The people I knew were not in the city.

I had that feeling of self-pity
I felt sorry for myself.

What to do, what to do, what to do
I didn't know what to do.

The outlook was decidedly blue
The situation looked bleak.

But as I walked through the foggy streets alone
As I walked alone in the foggy streets.

It turned out to be the luckiest day I've known
It ended up being my luckiest day ever.

A foggy day, in London town
It was a foggy day in London.

Had me low, had me down
I was feeling depressed.

I viewed the morning, with much alarm
I was worried about the morning.

British Museum, had lost its charm
The British Museum did not seem interesting anymore.