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.
C'est Ci Bon
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're listening to the boy from the big bad city
This is jam hot
This is jam hot
Friends tell me I am crazy
That I'm wasting time with you
You'll never be mine
'Cause I feel you're already mine
Whenever you're with me
People always talk about reputation
I don't care about your other girls
(Just be good to me)
(Just be good to me)
Tank fly boss walk jam nitty-gritty
You're listening to the boy from the big bad city
This is jam hot
This is jam hot
Love is a game of chances
So I'll take my chance with you
And you boy won't ever change
We talk about it and I'd
Rather have a piece of you
Than all or nothing
(Just be good to me)
In the morning
(Just be good to me)
In the afternoon all evening
(Just be good to me)
Yeah, just be good to me
(Just be good to me)
(Just be good to me)
I am not the jealous kind
I won't tie you down
When you need me
I'll be around
(Just be good to me)
I'll be good to you
You'll be good to me
We could be together
Be together
(Just be good to me)
(Just be good to me)
(Just be good to me)
Tank fly boss walk jam nitty-gritty
You're listening to the boy from the big bad city
This is jam hot
Tank fly boss walk jam nitty-gritty
The rhythm and music are exceptional and superbly awesome
You're listening to the boy from the big bad city
Louis Armstrong is the performer of this tune hailing from the big city
This is jam hot
This tune is exceptionally hot and happening
Friends tell me I am crazy
People think I am insane
That I'm wasting time with you
I am spending my time in vain with you
You'll never be mine
You can never be mine
That's not the way I see it
That's not how I feel about this situation
'Cause I feel you're already mine
I feel you are already my person
Whenever you're with me
Whenever we mix, I feel that you are mine
People always talk about reputation
People always discuss the opinions of you
I don't care about your other girls
I don't care about your other female companions
(Just be good to me)
Please just be good to me
Love is a game of chances
Love is a risky business
So I'll take my chance with you
So I want to take a risk with you
And you boy won't ever change
You will never alter
We talk about it and I'd Rather have a piece of you Than all or nothing
We spoke about our situation and I prefer to have a part of you rather than having nothing at all
In the morning
During the morning
In the afternoon all evening
During the afternoon and evening
Yeah, just be good to me
Yes, please treat me nicely
I am not the jealous kind
I am not inclined to be jealous
I won't tie you down
I won't bind or constrain you
When you need me
Whenever you require me
I'll be around
I will be present and available
I'll be good to you
I will treat you well
You'll be good to me
You will return the favor by treating me well
We could be together
We can be companions
Be together
Remain together
(Just be good to me)
Please just be good to me
(Just be good to me)
Please just be good to me
(Just be good to me)
Please just be good to me
Tank fly boss walk jam nitty-gritty
The rhythm and music are exceptional and superbly awesome
You're listening to the boy from the big bad city
Louis Armstrong is the performer of this tune hailing from the big city
This is jam hot
This tune is exceptionally hot and happening
Writer(s): Jerry Seelen, Henri Betti, Andre Hornez
Contributed by Emma P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@mohamedalaa5431
C'est si bon
Lovers say that in France
When they swing to romance
because it's oh so good
yeah
C'est Si Bon
i ’ll say to you
Like the French people do
Because it's oh so good.oh yes
Every word, every sigh, every kiss, dear,
Leads to only one thought
And the thought is this, dear!
its so good
Nothing else can replace
Just your slyest embrace
And if you only would
Be my own till the rest of my days
mama whisper your phrase
C'est si bon
@donnyrichard4644
I am 87 years young and saw many of the greats of the swing era. Louis was in a class by himself. A great musician with a unique voice and an absolutely incredible ability to be part of his audience.
@marcomuttinelli2740
Fully agree..... for me Louis is out of range, not only the best but simply the Music. Or maybe better.... there is music, then there is Louis and He his beyond the Music. (Apologizing for my english i hope you can understand properly What i mean).
@crazykano
donny richard I wish I'd been born during your era.
@vidaamoryrisa1493
Congratulations Donny!
@Jjaymontie
and this rendition of this song is the only version for me... My 78 year old brother worked in a record store in his late teens and brought this home... We had all kinds of music in the house, this is a classic.
@WSTY
One of the people with truly incredible showmanship.
@voiceofjeff
I always wished I'd been born years earlier so I could have sat in a smoky night club listening to the likes of Louis & Ella and all those other wonderful, very talented performers!
@alkaseltzer84
Cheers 🍻 to that
@LogiBizzle
I don't think I've ever seen somebody look so happy when they're singing, I find myself smiling too whenever I watch this.
@birdyman9682
❤