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.
Everybody Love My Baby
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But my baby don't love nobody but me, nobody but me
Oh, everybody wants my baby
But my baby don't want nobody but me; that's plain to see
Yes, she got a foam like Venus
Honest, I ain't talking Greek
No one can come between us
Yes, everybody loves my baby
But my baby, nobody but me
Yeah, nobody but me
Louis Armstrong's song "Everybody Loves My Baby" is a joyful melody about a man and his devoted partner. The man boasts about his partner and how everyone loves her, yet she only loves him in return. He emphasizes this point by repeating the refrain: "But my baby don't love nobody but me..."
The lyrics also describe the beauty of his lover, whom he compares to Venus, the goddess of love. He also states that no one can come between them, and likens their relationship to a powerful duo in ancient history, where he is the Sheik and she is his Sheba.
The song's happy-go-lucky melody and playful lyrics have made it an enduring classic, covered by numerous artists over the years. It was originally written in 1924 by Jack Palmer and Spencer Williams and was even performed by Armstrong in the 1931 film, "Ex-Flame."
According to music historians, Louis Armstrong's recording of "Everybody Loves My Baby" is considered one of the most important jazz recordings of the 1920s. Interestingly, despite the song being a classic love song, Louis Armstrong was known for his infidelities and tumultuous personal relationships throughout his life.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah, everybody loves my baby
The general public has developed a liking towards my lover.
But my baby don't love nobody but me, nobody but me
My lover has reserved her love only for me and no one else.
Oh, everybody wants my baby
Many people aspire to have a relationship with my lover.
But my baby don't want nobody but me; that's plain to see
My lover's love for me is very evident and cannot be ignored.
Yes, she got a foam like Venus
My lover has a beautiful, flawless physique just like the Roman goddess of love and beauty, Venus.
Honest, I ain't talking Greek
I'm not using any made-up or confusing language to describe my lover's beauty.
No one can come between us
No third party can interfere with our love for each other.
She's my Sheba, I'm her Sheik
I am my lover's leader and protector just like the biblical Queen of Sheba had her king, and I hold her in high esteem.
Yes, everybody loves my baby
My lover is favored by many.
But my baby, nobody but me
Despite my lover's popularity, I am the only one she loves romantically.
Yeah, nobody but me
My lover's heart belongs only to me and no one else.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Jack Palmer, Spencer Williams
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@cwcwful
Ladies And Gentlemen, the greatest legend in American music, Louis ' Satchmo' Armstrong!
@thatrandomarthobo2769
I have this song in my head all the time
@novelliification
Delícia de swing, Louis como sempre, aquele gênio que reinventou o jazz. Prestem atenção ao grande clarinetista Edmond Hall, o maior de todos, inigualável!!
@theveggiejerk
SATCHMO!!!!!!!!!!
@kapo88
اللي جاي من امير 🙈😍
@hassanebrahim1473
مين جاي من ريفو
@moeoh4968
اناااا
@uuuyyy7703
لول
@TimohaZT
Masterpiece