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.
Can't We Be Friends
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now it seems, this is how the story ends
He's going to turn me down and say
Can't we be friends
I thought for once it couldn't go wrong
Not for long, I can see the way this ends
He's going to turn me down and say
Never again, through with love
Through with men
They play their game without shame
And who's to blame
I thought I'd found a man I could trust
What a bust, this is how the story ends
He's going to turn me down and say
Can't we be friends
Yes, I thought I knew the wheat from the chaff
What a laugh, this is how our story ends
I'll let her turn me down and say
Can't we be friends
I acted like a kid out of school
What a fool, now I see this is the end
I'll let her turn me down and say
Can't we be friends
Oh what should I give
Though he gave me the air
Why should I cry
He was sigh and wonder why
Yes, I should have seen the signal to stop
What a flop, this is how the story ends
She's gonna turn me down and say
Can't we be friends
What should I give
Though he gave me the air
And why should I cry
He was sigh and wonder why
I should have seen the signal to stop
What a flop, this is how the story ends
I let him turn me down and say
Can't we be, can't we be, can't we be
Can't we be, can't we be, can't we be friends
Oh yes
Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald’s song “Can’t We Be Friends” is a testament to the ups and downs of love, trust, and heartbreak. The song is about the lead singer’s search for love, and how it ultimately ends in disappointment. The lyrics reference the singer’s initial enthusiasm for love only to be met with heartbreak, leading her to declare that she is “through with love.”
The chorus of the song, where the title is repeated over and over, represents the singer’s pleas to remain friends with her lover despite the heartbreak. The song conveys a sense of nostalgia, regret, and even humor through the use of witty lyrics and jazzy melodies. The singer comes to the realization that she should have recognized the signs that this relationship would end in heartbreak, but still holds onto a desire to remain friends, even if it means letting go of her romantic hopes.
Line by Line Meaning
I thought I'd found the man of my dreams
I believed I had found the perfect man for me
Now it seems, this is how the story ends
Unfortunately, it appears that things won't work out between us
He's going to turn me down and say
He's going to reject me and suggest that we just be friends
I thought for once it couldn't go wrong
I honestly believed that this time, things would be different
Not for long, I can see the way this ends
Sadly, I can already see that this is not going to work out
Never again, through with love, through with men
I am done with both love and men after being hurt too many times
They play their game without shame, and who's to blame
Men often treat women poorly, but it's not always clear who is at fault
I thought I'd found a man I could trust
I believed that I had finally found a man who would be reliable and honest
What a bust, this is how the story ends
Unfortunately, it didn't work out as I had hoped
Yes, I thought I knew the wheat from the chaff
I believed that I could easily distinguish the good men from the bad
What a laugh, this is how our story ends
It's ironic that our relationship would end this way after I thought I knew better
I acted like a kid out of school, what a fool
I behaved in an immature way and now realize how foolish I was
Now I see this is the end, I'll let her turn me down and say
I understand that our relationship won't work out, so I'll allow her to reject me
Oh what should I give, though he gave me the air
What should I offer him, despite him ending our relationship
Why should I cry, he was sigh and wonder why
Why should I be upset, when he will soon regret ending things with me
Yes, I should have seen the signal to stop
I realize now that I should have recognized the warning signs that our relationship was doomed
What a flop, this is how the story ends
It's disappointing how our relationship turned out
She's gonna turn me down and say, can't we be, can't we be, can't we be
She will reject me and propose that we just be friends
Can't we be friends, oh yes
The singer is resigned to a platonic relationship
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Kay Swift, Paul James
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@dianeshebilske509
Sorry, Y. N., I looked this up here is a list of the musicians on this excellent album:
Louis Armstrong - vocals, trumpet
Ella Fitzgerald - vocals
Oscar Peterson - piano
Ray Brown - bass
Herb Ellis - guitar
Buddy Rich - drums
Buddy Bregman - Arranger / Conductor
@17_haninoviani91
I thought I'd found the man of my dreams
Now it seems, this is how the story ends
He's going to turn me down and say
Can't we be friends
I thought for once it couldn't go wrong
Not for long, I can see the way this ends
He's going to turn me down and say
Can't we be friends
Never again, through with love
Through with men
They play their game without shame
And who's to blame
I thought I'd found a man I could trust
What a bust, this is how the story ends
He's going to turn me down and say
Can't we be friends
Yes, I thought I knew the wheat from the chaff
What a laugh, this is how our story ends
I'll let her turn me down and say
Can't we be friends
I acted like a kid out of school
What a fool, now I see this is the end
I'll let her turn me down and say
Can't we be friends
Oh what should I give
Though he gave me the air
Why should I cry
He was sigh and wonder why
Yes, I should have seen the signal to stop
What a flop, this is how the story ends
She's gonna turn me down and say
Can't we be friends
What should I give
Though he gave me the air
And why should I cry
He was sigh and wonder why
I should have seen the signal to stop
What a flop, this is how the story ends
I let him turn me down and say
Can't we be, can't we be, can't we be
Can't we be, can't we be, can't we be friends
Oh yes
@sorenkarlsson6279
Ella and Louis are a wonderful couple who complement each other in every way, even in this nice song. They are soooooo good!
@alkaseltzer84
Sören Karlsson Yes!! like butter on bread!!
@benji6b
The harmonies at the end are magnificent 3:38
@jaceyjacobs4013
And this, kids, is why you should actually talk to your crush
@RachelBrillgabby
I can't be friends with him anymore
@Official_Kezzie
Your right.
But I, you see, am your average teenager.
Therefore, in case of logic, I eat ice cream and cover my ears.
@rxmaryjade
He still don't want me 🤣🤣🤣
@set1237
What a comment. Haha.
@apimpnamedslickback2634
W
@SuperPaola1963
Wonderful couple!!! I love Ella and Louis forever.