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.
Cherry
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cherry, Cherry, I'll get you yet
Cherry, Cherry, don't you forget
Cherry, Cherry, you'll be my pet
And when I do you'll find out
Just what love is all about
Cherry, Cherry, I'll get you yet
Cherry, Cherry, I'll get you yet
The song "Cherry" by Louis Armstrong & The Mills Brothers depicts the singer's determination to capture the heart of the elusive "Cherry." The repetitive chorus of "Cherry, Cherry, you're hard to get / Cherry, Cherry, I'll get you yet / Cherry, Cherry, don't you forget / Cherry, Cherry, you'll be my pet" reaffirms the singer's persistence and highlights Cherry's resistance to his advances. The song is essentially about a man who will do whatever it takes to win over a particular woman, even if it means putting in significant effort.
The verse "And when I do you'll find out / Just what love is all about" reveals the singer's intentions to prove his worth and affection to Cherry. He believes that once he finally wins her over, he will be able to show her what true love is all about. Despite the challenging prospect of pursuing someone who seems unattainable, the singer remains resolute in his pursuit.
Line by Line Meaning
Cherry, Cherry, you're hard to get
Cherry, you seem resistant to my advances
Cherry, Cherry, I'll get you yet
I will persist in trying to win you over
Cherry, Cherry, don't you forget
Remember that I am pursuing you with determination
Cherry, Cherry, you'll be my pet
You'll be devoted to me, like a loyal pet
And when I do you'll find out
Once I win your affections, you'll discover
Just what love is all about
The true meaning and power of love
Oh, Cherry, Cherry, don't you forget
I won't let you forget my pursuit of you
Cherry, Cherry, I'll get you yet
I remain confident in my ability to win you over
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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