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.
As Time Goes By
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
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A kiss is still a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by
And when two lovers woo
They still say, "I love you"
On that you can rely
No matter what the future brings
Moonlight and love songs
Never out of date
Hearts full of passion
Jealousy and hate
Woman needs man
And man must have his mate
That no one can deny
it's still the same old story
A fight for love and glory
A case of do or die
The world will always welcome lovers
As time goes by
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Moonlight and love songs
Never out of date
Hearts full of passion
Jealousy and hate
Woman needs man
And man must have his mate
That no one can deny
it's still the same old story
A fight for love and glory
A case of do or die
The world will always welcome lovers
As time goes by
Louis Armstrong's version of the famous song "As Time Goes By" from the 1942 film Casablanca is a testament to the resilience of love, even in the face of adversity and the passage of time. The song begins with the phrase "you must remember this," a reminder that the fundamental things that make love endure remain unchanged. A kiss is still a kiss, and a sigh is still just a sigh regardless of time or circumstance, and these core aspects of love are universal and timeless.
The song goes on to speak about the constancy of love between two people. In the face of the unknown future, lovers will always say "I love you" to one another, and this love will transcend all that may come. Even though there may be moments of passion, jealousy, and anger, these are all facets of the same old story of love, a fight for what one cares about most deeply.
The final lines of the song are an assertion that lovers will always be welcome in the world as time goes by, and that the universality of love will endure through time, even in a world that is ever-changing.
Overall, the lyrics of "As Time Goes By" remind us that love is one of the most fundamental aspects of the human experience, and that even though we may face obstacles and challenges, the essential nature of love remains unchanged.
Line by Line Meaning
You must remember this
Remember the past experiences and emotions that have shaped who you are.
A kiss is still a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh
No matter how much time passes, the simple gestures of love like kissing and sighing still hold the same meaning.
The fundamental things apply
The basic principles of love and relationships are always relevant, no matter what era it is.
As time goes by
Even though time passes and things change, some things will always remain the same.
And when two lovers woo
When two people are in love and court each other.
They still say, 'I love you'
The declaration of love is timeless and never fades away.
On that you can rely
You can always count on the power and endurance of love.
No matter what the future brings
Regardless of what happens in the future, love will always endure.
Woman needs man
There is a basic human need for companionship and love.
And man must have his mate
A man requires a partner for emotional fulfillment and happiness.
That no one can deny
This is a universally true fact of human nature and relationships.
It's still the same old story
Love stories and relationships remain fundamentally the same, despite time passing and things changing.
A fight for love and glory
Love can be a battle, but it is also worth fighting for and celebrating.
A case of do or die
Love requires effort and dedication, and sometimes it feels like a matter of life or death.
The world will always welcome lovers
Love is a universal experience that transcends cultures and time periods.
As time goes by
Love will always stand the test of time.
Contributed by Riley T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Anonymous
on What A Wonderful World
What A Wonderful World - Casey Abrams - Lyrics
I see trees of green
Red roses too
I see them bloom
For me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
I see skies of blue
And clouds of white
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Singing how do you do
They're really singing
I love you
I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They'll learn much more
Than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Musical Interlude
The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Singing how do you do
They're really singing
I love you
I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They goin’ learn much more
Than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
I think to myself
What a wonderful world