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's Ragtime Band
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
The lyrics to Louis Armstrong's "Alexander's Ragtime Band" introduce the listener to an incredibly talented group of musicians. The opening lines invite the listener to come and hear the band play, proclaiming it as the best in the land. The lyrics continue to describe the band's exceptional talents, highlighting their ability to play a bugle call with great naturalness and convincing the listener that they are ready to go to war for the band.
The lyrics then bring the listener up to the leader of the band, inviting them to join in on hearing the band play "Swanee River" in ragtime. The instrumental break serves to showcase the band's skills and allows the listener to experience the music in a more visceral manner. The final lines reiterate the invitation to hear the band play, once again reminding the listener that Alexander's Ragtime Band is the best in the land.
One interesting fact about the song is that it was actually written by Irving Berlin, one of the most famous and successful songwriters of the 20th century. Another interesting fact is that the song was so popular that it inspired multiple films of the same name, including a 1938 film starring Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, and Don Ameche. Additionally, it is said that the song was one of the main influences on the development of jazz music in the 1920s.
Line by Line Meaning
Come on and hear... come on and hear
Join us and experience the sound of the band for yourself.
Alexander's ragtime band
The name of the band we want you to hear and enjoy.
It's the best band in the land
We truly believe that our band is the best in the entire country.
They can play a bugle call like you never heard before
Our band has an exceptional ability to play the bugle in a way that sounds unique and incredible.
So natural that you wanna go to war
The bugle call is so stirring and impressive that it can make you feel like rushing off to battle.
That's just the bestest band what am... oh honey lamb
We are very confident in our claim that this is the best band around, my dear friend.
Come on along... come on along
Join us and come along with the band on this musical journey.
Let me take you by the hand
Allow me to guide you and lead you towards the man who is the leader of the band.
Up to the man... I said the man
Follow me as I take you straight to the person who is responsible for leading this wonderful group of musicians.
If you care to hear that swanee river played in ragtime
If you're interested in hearing the classic song 'Swanee River' played in a unique and lively way, then come check us out.
And if you want to hear that swanee river played in ragtime
We will be happy to perform 'Swanee River' in our specia, attention-grabbing style if that's what you're hoping to hear.
(instrumental break)
We take a short break from singing to play a purely instrumental section of the song.
Lyrics © PAUL RODRIGUEZ MUSIC LTD. , Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: IRVING BERLIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@TheTrippersMindTrip
Man, I love this version! Thanks, Satch!
@jimfryer1
Thanks for posting this!
@Trombonology
Fantastic!