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.
Butter & Egg Man
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From way out in the west
She wants somebody, who's workin' all day
So she's got money, when she wants to play
Now pretty clothes, they'll never be mine
But what she told me the other day
I hope she don't change her mind
A great big butter and egg man
From way down south
These lyrics from Louis Armstrong's song Big Butter and Egg Man describe a woman's desire for a man who works hard and earns a lot of money, so that she can enjoy the finer things in life. She specifically wants a "butter and egg man" from the West or South, which refers to someone who works in the dairy or poultry industry and has a steady income. The singer acknowledges that he can't provide her with the expensive clothes and lifestyle she desires, but he hopes she doesn't change her mind about wanting a wealthy man.
The song is a commentary on the materialism of some women and the societal pressure for men to be providers. It also touches on the theme of unrequited love, as the singer knows he can't be what the woman wants but still longs for her affection.
Line by Line Meaning
Now she wants, a butter an egg man
She desires to have a wealthy and hardworking man in her life
From way out in the west
She wants a man from a faraway location
She wants somebody, who's workin' all day
She desires someone who is busy and dedicated to his job
So she's got money, when she wants to play
She wants to have enough money to spend when she wants to enjoy leisure activities
Now pretty clothes, they'll never be mine
I know I'll never be able to afford expensive clothing
But what she told me the other day
However, what she told me recently is giving me some hope
I hope she don't change her mind
I sincerely hope she won't alter her decision
A great big butter and egg man
She wants a very wealthy man who can provide her with a luxurious lifestyle
From way down south
She is willing to look for the perfect man even outside her immediate location
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CLIFF FRIEND, JOSEPH SANTLY, SIDNEY CLARE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
ridecymbol
Thanks for this. I haven't heard it since I owned the record back in the 60s. I heard Armstrong "live' in about 1966 when Hello Dolly was a smash hit. Dad took me to hear him and the all stars in Toronto when I was about 13 or 14. I'm 60 now and still listening and loving it. Thanks for Butter and Eggman!
Shiloh Palacios
finally found this version after losing all of my music on my old computer :)
Duyaj
This is the version i was looking for. Thanks a lot.
Krow Meat
Whenever I here this my mind wanders back to the good old days, when this one dude in an eggman costume would throw butter at me and refuse to leave my house.
Antonio Carlos Novelli
Louis é simplesmente FANTÁSTICO!!
Antonio Carlos Novelli
Swing impecável de Louis, só ele mesmo!
Theodorus Rex
My Amazon Echo introduced me to this tune... So grateful... :) No one plays(ed) trumpet quite like Satchmo... No one sings like him either, obviously... A true perennial...
notafraid06
Theodorus Rex
Amazon is for cucks. Your wifes bull is probably a black man too.
elizabethfusion
Thanks a lot I`ve been looking for this version for years, do you know from wich album comes from? It means a lot to me because it marks a very important time in my life. It brings me good memories. Thank you again
irish1209
Best version! ❤️