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.
Blues Are Brewin'
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
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Starry eyed and dreamy
And nights are luscious and long
If you're kinda lonely
All by you're only
Then nothin' but the blues are brewin'
The blues are brewin'
Blows across your pillow
And tells you sleepin' is wrong
If love goes a thirsting
Till you feel like bursting
Then nothing but the blues are brewin'
The blues are brewin'
Suppose you want somebody
But you ain't got nobody
You only get a gleam in your eyes
Till somebody's found you
And put their lovin' arms around you
You got the feelin' you want to die
But when the Lord up above you
Send's someone to love you
The blues are something you loose
You're so busy doing
The things that you're doing
That love ain't got no time
For brewin' the blues
But when the Lord up above you
Send's someone to love you
The blues are something you loose
You're so busy doing
The things that you're doing
That love ain't got no time
For brewin' the blues
The blues
The song "The Blues are Brewin'" by Louis Armstrong is a ballad that talks about loneliness and the emotions it brings along. The first verse speaks of night time and how the moon and stars give it a dreamy quality. However, if you find yourself alone during such a time, you will start feeling the blues brewing inside of you. The second verse talks about how the wind is blowing and how it is not conducive to sleep. If you are in love but are not getting it back, then the blues will start brewing inside of you. The third verse speaks to those who do not have anyone in their life but are searching for love. It is a song that highlights the deep emotions of loneliness and how it can lead to the blues.
The song tells us that if we have nobody to love, we can quickly start to feel the blues brewing inside of us. Loneliness can make us feel unwanted and unloved, leading to sadness and gloom. The third verse also gives us a glimpse of hope, highlighting how the Lord can send someone to love us and take away our blues. It is a song that evokes deep emotions and feelings of sadness, but it also gives us hope that we will not be alone forever.
Line by Line Meaning
When the moon's kinda dreamy
When the night is peaceful and calm.
Starry eyed and dreamy
Full of hope and optimism.
And nights are luscious and long
The nights seem rich with possibility and excitement.
If you're kinda lonely
If you're feeling alone and without companionship or love.
All by you're only
Completely alone with no one to share your feelings with.
Then nothin' but the blues are brewin'
You can only feel sad and melancholy in this situation.
When the wind through the window
The wind blowing into your home.
Blows across your pillow
The wind is so strong it moves your pillow.
And tells you sleepin' is wrong
You feel anxious and unable to sleep due to outside factors.
If love goes a thirsting
If you are craving and yearning for love.
Till you feel like bursting
Until your emotions overwhelm you completely.
Then nothing but the blues are brewin'
You are so consumed by your desire for love that you feel sad and despondent.
Suppose you want somebody
Imagine if you are yearning for someone.
But you ain't got nobody
But there is no one to fulfill that desire.
You only get a gleam in your eyes
You can only hope and dream of being with someone.
Till somebody's found you
Until someone comes into your life as a partner.
And put their lovin' arms around you
Until they embrace you with love and affection.
You got the feelin' you want to die
Overwhelmed with joy that feels like it will consume you.
But when the Lord up above you
When fate intervenes on your behalf.
Send's someone to love you
Sends someone who will love you and fulfill your desires.
The blues are something you lose
You are no longer sad or despondent, but rather joyful.
You're so busy doing
When you're fully engaged in your life.
The things that you're doing
The activities and pursuits that fill your life.
That love ain't got no time
You no longer feel the need to yearn for love or companionship.
For brewin' the blues
Because your life is now full of happiness and love.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: EDGAR EDDIE DELANGE, LOUIS ALTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mary Evans
When you hear something this amazing it renders you speechless. It feels as though Billie and Satchmo are joined at the hip musically ; and I might add that even though this film is over seventy years old, the music seems to be frozen in time. These people were artist in the truest sense . I wish that I could go back in time and thank both of them for the joy that their gifts have brought me!
christopher Anderson
You must be a huge fan of Billie holiday, what’s your favorite song by her ?
Mathew walentowicz
I love the way Louis is just playing his trumpet then billie starts singing and he just looks at her and smiles
southsyde Sasha
Thats cuz he knew she had a real GIFT like she say in interviews" i want to sing like Louis Armstrong play"&" i want my voice to be an insrument"- Lady Day
Mathew walentowicz
+southsyde Sasha yeh she did have a gift not many artist nowadays can sing the blues the way she did like amy winehouse Janis Joplin and Nina simone all very talented women who had talent and we lost three of them to soon and took the other for granted
Rendy Moore
Mathew walentowicz your right she is my favorite singer of all time and im only 9 and I know all her records and I can sing and when I sing her songs I get better and better
Albert Pettibone
This must have been a phenomenal experience for he singing with a person she grew up listening to and idolized which may have factored into his glance!
Tonee Norman
Italy _ blessed well, you must be 12 now,and,I hope you have kept on singing! Such good taste for such a young one....
St. Garoosh
I wish they had worked on a full album. I love the Louis/Ella recordings to death but Billie and Louis would have brought something very special to the world.
Juan
I hope the world never forgets her.