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 Si Bon
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lovers say that in France
When they thrill to romance
It means that it's so good
Oh, c'est si bon
So I say it to you
Like the French people do
Every word, every sigh
Every kiss, dear
Leads to only one thought
And it's this, dear!
Hmm, it's so good
Nothing else can replace
Just your slightest embrace
And if you only would
Be my own
For the rest of my days
I will whisper this phrase
My darling, c'est si bon, oui oui!
Louis Armstrong's song "C'est si bon" is a love song filled with charming and alluring lyrics that speak to the power of romance. The lyrics begin with the phrase "Hmm, c'est si bon," which can be translated from French as "It's so good." The song tells the story of lovers in France who use the phrase to describe their intense passion and love for one another.
Louis Armstrong's musical interpretation of the lyrics is smooth and gentle, providing a sense of intimacy between the singer and the listener. The lyrics continue with the words "Every word, every sigh, every kiss, dear, leads to only one thought and it's this dear." Here, the singer communicates the idea that being in love means being completely consumed by one another. The rest of the lyrics speak to the idea that nothing else can replace the feeling of being in love, and that even a slight embrace is enough to make everything feel perfect.
Overall, "C'est si bon" is a beautiful and heartfelt love song that remains popular even to this day. It's a celebration of romance and passion, and its lyrics capture the essence of what it means to be in love.
Line by Line Meaning
Hmm, c'est si bon
Ah, it's such a good feeling
Lovers say that in France
That's what lovers say in France
When they thrill to romance
When they're overcome with romantic feelings
It means that it's so good
They use it to express how good it feels
Oh, c'est si bon
Oh, it's just so good
So I say it to you
That's why I say it to you
Like the French people do
In the way that French people do
Because it's oh-so good, ba-ba-doo, doo day
Because it feels so good, ba-ba-doo, doo day
Every word, every sigh
Every single thing we say, every sound we make
Every kiss, dear
Every kiss, my dear
Leads to only one thought
It all leads to just one thought
And it's this, dear!
And that thought is this, my dear!
Hmm, it's so good
It feels so amazing
Nothing else can replace
There's nothing else that can compare
Just your slightest embrace
Even just your smallest hug
And if you only would
If only you would
Be my own
Be mine
For the rest of my days
For the rest of my life
I will whisper this phrase
I will whisper this exact phrase
My darling, c'est si bon, oui oui!
My darling, it's just so good, yes yes!
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, BEUSCHER ARPEGE, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Henri Betti, Andre Hornez
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@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
❤