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.
Caldonia
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She long, lean and lanky and ain't had nothing to eat
But I love her just the same
Crazy ′bout that woman, 'cause Caldonia is her name
Caldonia, Caldonia
What makes your big head so hard?
I'm crazy about a woman, Caldonia is her name
Caldonia, Caldonia
What makes your big head so hard?
Caldonia, Caldonia
What makes your big head so hard?
Caldonia, Caldonia
What makes your big head so hard?
Louis Armstrong's song Caldonia is a classic example of a blues song from the 1940s. The song recounts the tale of a man walking with his lover who is described as having large feet, being tall and lean and not having had much to eat. The singer is enamored with her, however, and claims to love her just the same, and the song is an ode to this woman, whose name is Caldonia.
The most interesting aspect of the song is its double entendre when it comes to the lyrics. On one level, the song appears to be simply about a man in love with a woman named Caldonia, but on another level, some of the lyrics are clearly sexual in nature. For example, the repeated line "What makes your big head so hard?" can be interpreted as a reference to impotence or sexual frustration. The song was a big hit at the time, and its popularity has endured through the years, no doubt due to its catchy tune and suggestive lyrics.
Another interesting feature of the song is its connection to the history of jazz music. Louis Armstrong was one of the most important musicians in the history of jazz, and his influence can be heard in countless recordings over the years. Caldonia was also covered by many other musicians, including B.B. King and Muddy Waters, and became a classic of the genre.
Line by Line Meaning
Walkin' with my baby, she got great big feet
My baby has huge feet, but I still love her and enjoy walking with her
She long, lean and lanky and ain't had nothing to eat
My baby is tall, thin, and hasn't eaten anything, but I still find her attractive
But I love her just the same
Despite any flaws or imperfections, I love my baby deeply
Crazy ′bout that woman, 'cause Caldonia is her name
I am completely infatuated with my baby, whose name is Caldonia
Caldonia, Caldonia
What makes your big head so hard?
I playfully ask Caldonia why she's being stubborn or difficult in a teasing manner
I love her, just the same
I'm crazy about a woman, Caldonia is her name
I reiterate that I love Caldonia and can't get enough of her
Caldonia, Caldonia
What makes your big head so hard?
I continue to ask Caldonia (still in a playful way) why she's being difficult
Caldonia, Caldonia
What makes your big head so hard?
I ask Caldonia the same question again, as if trying to figure out what's going on in her mind
Contributed by Christopher W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Anonymous
on What A Wonderful World
What A Wonderful World - Casey Abrams - Lyrics
I see trees of green
Red roses too
I see them bloom
For me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
I see skies of blue
And clouds of white
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Singing how do you do
They're really singing
I love you
I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They'll learn much more
Than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Musical Interlude
The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Singing how do you do
They're really singing
I love you
I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They goin’ learn much more
Than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
I think to myself
What a wonderful world