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.
Canal Street Blues
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To the Mississippi?
We'll take a trip to the land of dreams
Blowing down the river, down to New Orleans
The band is there to meet us
Old friends to greet us
That's where the line and the dark folks meet
A heaven on earth, they call it Basin Street
I said, Basin Street, Basin Street
Where the elite always meet
Down in New Orleans, the land of dreams
You'll never know how nice it seems
Or just how much it really means
Just to be, yes, siree, in New Orleans
The land of dreams where I can lose
My Basin Street blues
Now, you're glad you came with me
Down the Mississippi
We took a trip in a land of dreams
And floated down the river down to New Orleans
Where to, Basin Street, Basin Street
Where the elite always meet
Down in New Orleans, the land of dreams
You'll never know how, how much it seems
Or just how much it really means
Just to be, yes, siree, yeah, New Orleans
The land of dreams where I can lose
My Basin Street blues
In "Basin Street Blues," Louis Armstrong paints a vivid picture of New Orleans, a city adored for its jazz and blues music. He invites the listener to come along and take a trip with him to the land of dreams, which is New Orleans. Armstrong’s enthusiasm for the city is infectious – "You'll never know how nice it seems/ Or just how much it really means" – as he describes its beauty, noting its place as where the Mississippi River meets the Gulf of Mexico.
Armstrong also notes the racial divide that existed in the city at the time, referring to "the line where the dark folks meet." But despite this divide, he sees New Orleans as a "heaven on earth" and Basin Street as the place where the elite always meet. The song provides a glimpse into the soulful and joyous atmosphere of New Orleans, where people of different cultures came together through music and dance. Overall, the song is a celebration of the city's vibrancy and the way in which it seduces its residents and visitors.
Line by Line Meaning
Now won't you come along with me
Let's go on a journey together.
To the Mississippi?
Let's go to the Mississippi River.
We'll take a trip to the land of dreams
We will travel to a place where dreams come true.
Blowing down the river, down to New Orleans
We will float down the river to New Orleans.
The band is there to meet us
We will be welcomed by a band of musicians.
Old friends to greet us
We will be met by old friends.
That's where the line and the dark folks meet
People of all races gather there.
A heaven on earth, they call it Basin Street
Basin Street is a place so wonderful it's like heaven on earth.
I said, Basin Street, Basin Street
I keep repeating the name of this wonderful place.
Where the elite always meet
It is where the wealthiest people gather.
You'll never know how nice it seems
You can't imagine how great it is.
Or just how much it really means
It has an enormous significance.
Just to be, yes, siree, in New Orleans
Being in New Orleans is simply amazing.
The land of dreams where I can lose
New Orleans is a place where I can forget my problems.
My Basin Street blues
The sadness I feel in other places disappears in New Orleans.
Now, you're glad you came with me
I'm glad you joined me on this journey.
Down the Mississippi
We are floating down the Mississippi River.
Where to, Basin Street, Basin Street
We are heading to Basin Street.
You'll never know how, how much it seems
You can't fathom how great it is.
Just to be, yes, siree, yeah, New Orleans
Being in New Orleans is simply amazing.
The land of dreams where I can lose
New Orleans is a place where I can forget my problems.
My Basin Street blues
The sadness I feel in other places disappears in New Orleans.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Spencer Williams
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@falanajerido6939
And Louis was great
@roornc
Music does not get better than that.
@TheZackBriggs
I love that growl from the muted trombone solo. Louis Armstrong is a beast!
@JuanFecit
¡Grande la All-Stars de Louie!
@amd77j
This joint's a jumpin!!!!
@pupulehapa
you're right, my dad saw that this afternoon and told me.
@p0k7lm
the great ones !!!🎵🎶🎼🎺
@falanajerido6939
I love this
@p0k7lm
Super Classy🎵🎺🆒👍😎
@JuanFecit
Maravilloso, muchisimas gracias...