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.
Billie
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm a liar if I say I don't
I love my man
I'm a liar if I say I don't
But I'll quit my man
I'm a liar if I say I won't
I've been your slave, baby
I've been your slave
Ever since I've been your babe
But before I'll be your dog
I'll see you in your grave
My man wouldn't give me no breakfast
Wouldn't give me no dinner
Squawked about my supper then he put me outdoors
Had the nerve to lay a matchbox on my clothes
I didn't have so many
But I had a long, long ways to go
I ain't good looking
And my hair ain't curled
I ain't good looking
And my hair ain't curled
But my mother, she gave me something
It's going to carry me through this world
Some men like me 'cause I'm happy
Some 'cause I'm snappy
Some call me honey
Others think I've got money
Some say me Billie
Baby, you're built for speed
Now, if you put that all together
Makes me everything a good man needs
Louis Armstrong's song Billie's Blues is a heartfelt tribute to Billie Holiday, a fellow jazz musician and friend of Armstrong's. The song begins with the declaration "I love my man / I'm a liar if I say I don't," and continues with the admission that she has been his slave since she was his "babe." But, she declares, she would rather see him in his grave than be his dog.
Holiday's life was marked by abusive relationships, and this song seems to reflect on some of the experiences she may have gone through. She tells the story of how her man refused to give her breakfast, dinner, and even squawked about her supper before putting her outdoors. She highlights that she isn't good looking and her hair isn't curled, but her mother gave her something which she believes can carry her through this world. Many men like her, Billie says, because she's snappy, some call her honey, others think she has money. It all comes together to make her everything a good man needs.
Line by Line Meaning
I love my man
I am deeply in love with my partner
I'm a liar if I say I don't
It would be a falsehood if I claim otherwise
But I'll quit my man
However, I am willing to let go of my partner
I'm a liar if I say I won't
If I claim otherwise, it would be an untruth
I've been your slave, baby
I have been subservient to you
Ever since I've been your babe
Starting from the time I was your sweetheart
But before I'll be your dog
However, I would rather die than become your servant
I'll see you in your grave
I envision you dying before making me do your bidding
My man wouldn't give me no breakfast
My partner refused to give me breakfast
Wouldn't give me no dinner
He denied me dinner too
Squawked about my supper then he put me outdoors
He complained about my dinner and kicked me outside
Had the nerve to lay a matchbox on my clothes
He shamelessly put a matchbox on top of my garments
I didn't have so many
I didn't have many clothes
But I had a long, long ways to go
Despite the scarcity, I had a long journey ahead
I ain't good looking
I am not physically attractive
And my hair ain't curled
My hair is not styled
But my mother, she gave me something
However, my mother gave me something special
It's going to carry me through this world
Something that will help me navigate life
Some men like me 'cause I'm happy
Some men are attracted to my charisma and joyful nature
Some 'cause I'm snappy
Others are drawn to me due to my quick wit
Some call me honey
Some address me fondly as 'honey'
Others think I've got money
Some harbor the impression that I am wealthy
Some say me Billie
Some refer to me by the name 'Billie'
Baby, you're built for speed
Darling, you possess qualities that make you an excellent partner
Now, if you put that all together
If you combine all those traits
Makes me everything a good man needs
It conceives my suitability as an ideal partner
Lyrics © CARLIN AMERICA INC
Written by: BILLIE HOLIDAY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@throckmortensnivel2850
"God bless the child that's got his own, that's got his own..." Thank you, Billie, and Louis, for the beauty you brought to the world.
@gratefulyankee377
Two of the most immortal icons of jazz whose legacies will live on forever
@krisdemars1355
Right on brother 🌹
@carolegriggs3107
So true, and Billy's voice always gives me goose bumps. Heaven on Earth💜
@loilt5091
Louis & Billie...it doesn't get any better!!
@samuelmuiruri4704
u would not think amstrong could play for another artist. well, what a giant, great singer but will play sax for billie holliday
@loilt5091
@@samuelmuiruri4704
Sax?...time for some homework.
Louis Armstrong is widely acknowledged as the greatest trumpet player in the history of jazz.
@samuelmuiruri4704
@@loilt5091 my bad, i stand corrected.
@rexstil99
@@loilt5091 he’s my favorite but definitive best is a stretch when you consider people like miles Davis and John Coltrane
@loilt5091
@@rexstil99
Best❓
Best what...technical chops, groundbreaking virtuosity, a game changing, genre defining genius, a charming, heart warming icon. Or the FATHER of it all, even before Duke...the man who laid it all out there, setting the standard & example for everybody. Even the great Miles Davis admitted that Louis said it ALL, before any of us! Scholarly, former young lions like Wynton know the score...he'll tell you who The Man is.
Sure, Trane's got a few of those covered and then there's Diz's blinding, Be-Bop mastery, bringing the Latin connection & so many other greats, but when the dust finally settles, there's only one. The general public mostly know him as the gravelly voiced charmer, but his horn is the beacon on the battlefront, that blazed through the frontier and eras...from it's Storyville birthplace and Buddy Bolden, past King Oliver, to New York & the World! 🌐