Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an inventive trumpet and cornet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the focus of the music from collective improvisation to solo performance. With his instantly-recognizable gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser, bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes. He was also skilled at scat singing (vocalizing using sounds and syllables instead of actual lyrics).
Renowned for his charismatic stage presence and voice almost as much as for his trumpet-playing, Armstrong's influence extends well beyond jazz music, and by the end of his career in the 1960s, he was widely regarded as a profound influence on popular music in general. Armstrong was one of the first truly popular African-American entertainers to "cross over", whose skin-color was secondary to his music in an America that was severely racially divided. He rarely publicly politicized his race, often to the dismay of fellow African-Americans, but took a well-publicized stand for desegregation during the Little Rock Crisis. His artistry and personality allowed him socially acceptable access to the upper echelons of American society that were highly restricted for a black man.
Armstrong was born and brought up 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 didn't travel 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 rhythms and more improvisation, and Armstrong's role was mostly backing. Slow to promote himself, he was eventually persuaded by his wife Lil Hardin 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, trumpeters 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 films, touring Asia and Europe, and dislodging The Beatles from the number-one position with Hello Dolly". Today many 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."
The 62-year-old Armstrong became the oldest act to top the US charts when "Hello Dolly" reached #1 in 1964. Four years later Satchmo also became the oldest artist to record a UK #1, when "What a Wonderful World" hit the top spot.
Alexander
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Alexander's ragtime band
Come on and hear... come on and hear
It's the best band in the land
They can play a bugle call like you never heard before
So natural that you wanna go to war
That's just the bestest band what am... oh honey lamb
Let me take you by the hand
Up to the man... I said the man
Who's the leader of the band
If you care to hear that swanee river played in ragtime
Come on and hear... come on and hear
Alexander's ragtime band
(instrumental break)
Come on and hear... come on and hear
Alexander's ragtime band
Come on and hear... come on and hear
It's the best band in the land
And if you want to hear that swanee river played in ragtime
Come on and hear... come on and hear
Alexander's ragtime band
Louis Armstrong's song "Alexander's Rag Time Band" is a classic ragtime tune that celebrates the exceptional abilities of Alexander's band. The lyrics are an invitation from the singer to the audience to come and hear the band play. The song opens with the phrase "Come on and hear" repeated twice, followed by "Alexander's Ragtime Band" twice. This builds momentum, capturing the listener's attention and making them curious about the band. The repeated refrain of "Come on and hear" is designed to encourage listeners to attend performances of the band and become part of the excitement and the entertainment they offer.
The song describes how the band can play a bugle call better than anyone else. The natural sound of the music evokes the desire to go to war, a theme that was relevant in 1911, when the song was first performed. Finally, the lyrics describe the band as "the bestest band what am, Honey Lamb," a phrase that conveys the band's superior quality and exceptional abilities.
Line by Line Meaning
Come on and hear, come on and hear
Join me in listening to what I have to say
Alexander's Ragtime Band
A musical group known for playing ragtime music, led by Alexander
Come on and hear, come on and hear
I insist that you listen to this great band
It's the best band in the land
No other musical group can compare to Alexander's Ragtime Band
They can play a bugle call
Their musical abilities extend beyond simply playing instruments
Like you never heard before
They are able to play in a unique and impressive way
So natural that you want to go to war
Their music is so powerful it can inspire you to take action
That's just the bestest band what am, Honey Lamb
This band is truly the best and it's hard to deny that fact
Come on along, come on along
Join me and let's go see this band in person
Let me take you by the hand
Allow me to guide you towards an amazing musical experience
Up to the man, up to the man
Let's go see the leader of the band
Who's the leader of the band
I am curious about the person who leads this amazing musical group
And if you want to hear the Swanee River played in ragtime
If you enjoy hearing classic tunes with a unique and lively twist
Come on and hear, come on and hear
I highly recommend that you listen to Alexander's Ragtime Band
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Irving Berlin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@TheTrippersMindTrip
Man, I love this version! Thanks, Satch!
@jimfryer1
Thanks for posting this!
@Trombonology
Fantastic!