Louis Armstrong (August 4, 1901 - July 6, 1971) nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, … Read Full Bio ↴Louis Armstrong (August 4, 1901 - July 6, 1971) nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana.
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. Jam Blues
Louis Armstrong Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Baby, take me down to Duke's place
Wildest box in town is Duke's place
Love that piano sound in Duke's place
Saxes do their tricks in Duke's place

Fellas swing their chicks in Duke's place
Come on, get your kicks in Duke's place
You find yourself a seat, and when you want to eat

You look around and yell waiter

You fill your cup chock full of dreams and drink it up
You're jetting along with your girlie
It's after three o'clock, but, baby, it's still early
If you've never been to Duke's place

Take your tootsies into Duke's place
Life is in a spin in Duke's place

Overall Meaning

Louis Armstrong's "C. Jam Blues" is an upbeat and playful tune about the fun and excitement to be found at Duke's Place, a popular jazz nightclub. The song opens with Armstrong urging his baby to take him down to Duke's Place, where the wildest music in town can be heard. He loves the sound of the piano in Duke's Place, and the saxophones always do their tricks to impress the crowd. Fellas also swing their chicks in Duke's Place, and everyone can come and get their kicks.

Once inside, patrons can find a seat and order some food by calling out to a waiter. The atmosphere is full of dreams, and you can feel yourself being swept away by the music, especially when you're with your special someone. The night feels like it's just getting started, even though it's already past three in the morning, and Armstrong urges listeners to come out and experience Duke's Place for themselves.

Overall, "C. Jam Blues" celebrates the joy and magic of live jazz performances and encourages listeners to get out and enjoy the music for themselves.

C. Jam BluesLouis Armstrong Lyrics

@jonaspianotutor

@xiqotony9351

@da11king

@Milewskige

@kayserbondor

@tanhongzhi2637

@edmondnagy4784

@tanhongzhi2637

C. Jam Blues
Louis Armstrong Lyrics