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.
Coal Cart Blues
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm really on confuse
I'm bound to lose my very mind
and worry, worry all the time.
these blues will make you cry
feel just like you wanna scream
of course the cart was hot and
but just a little go boy was my cup
I've got those Coal Cart Blues
there I really don't know what to do
Louis Armstrong's "Coal Cart Blues" expresses the pain, confusion and anxiety that a coal miner goes through when faced with the difficult and dangerous working conditions in the mines. The song is an expression of the troubles that coal miners faced on a daily basis as they worked tirelessly to provide power for the rapidly growing industrial economy. Armstong sings that his mind is in a cloud and he can't handle the pressure of work. He describes the heat and danger of working in the coal mine that almost killed him. He is consumed by worry and fears for his life due to the difficulty of his job.
The lyrics paint a vivid picture of the harsh realities of the coal mining industry, focusing on the struggles faced by the African American coal miners in New Orleans. Armstrong's voice reflects the pain, sadness and fear of the workers. His talent in delivering the song makes the listener feel the pain of the coal miner. By singing about the Coal Cart Blues, Armstrong highlighted the need for better working conditions in the coal mines.
Line by Line Meaning
I've got those Coal Cart Blues
I am experiencing a deep emotional distress related to my job of moving coal via cart.
I'm really on confuse
I am terribly confused and unsure of what to do with these overwhelming feelings.
I'm bound to lose my very mind
I fear that these blues will take over my mental faculties and cause me to lose my sanity.
and worry, worry all the time.
My anxiety and concern consumes my thoughts constantly and consistently.
these blues will make you cry
The emotional weight of these blues is so heavy that it can bring one to tears.
feel just like you wanna scream
The intensity of these emotions can make one feel like they need to release or express themselves vocally.
of course the cart was hot and
The physical nature of my job moving coal via cart is taxing and challenging.
it almost kill me,
There have been instances where the difficulty of my job has put my physical safety in jeopardy.
but just a little go boy was my cup
Despite the challenges, there are moments of satisfaction or joy that come from completing the work.
there I really don't know what to do
Overall, I am struggling to cope with the emotional toll of my job and I feel lost and unsure of how to move forward.
Contributed by Chloe N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Peter Meili
Louis and Sidney recorded 4 tunes in 1940. What are the remaining 8 sides of the album?
David Walker
Sweet.
Drums Only
👑
schnieef
Nice pianoless duet.
michael wilcox
MAGIC!!