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.
Firm Fram Sauce
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't want french fried potatoes,
Red ripe tomatoes,
I'm never satisfied.
I want the frim fram sauce with the ausen fay
With chafafa on the side.
I don't want pork chops and bacon,
That won't awaken
My appetite inside.
I want the frim fram sauce with the ausen fay
With chafafa on the side.
A fella really got to eat
And a fella should eat right.
Five will get you ten
I'm gonna feed myself right tonight.
I don't want fish cakes and rye bread,
You heard what I said.
Waiter, please serve mine fried
I want the frim fram sauce with the ausen fay
With chafafa on the side.
~interlude~
A fella really got to eat
And a fella should eat right.
Five will get you ten
I'm gonna feed myself right tonight.
I don't want fish cakes and rye bread,
You heard what I said.
Waiter, please serve mine fried
I want the frim fram sauce with the ausen fay
With chafafa on the side.
(now if you don't have it, just bring me a check for the water!)
Louis Armstrong's song The Frim Fram Sauce is a playful and witty tune that expresses the desire for a specific type of meal, rather than the typical options. The song reflects a hunger for something new and exciting, instead of just a plain and dull meal. The lyrics describe the singer's desire for a meal that is not ordinary, but something with particular specifications. Firstly, he does not want french fries and ripe tomatoes, which are the usual accompaniments for meals. Instead, he wants the frim fram sauce, a unique and exotic sauce, with the ausen fay, a French term meaning chicken breast, and the chafafa, which could be anything from vegetables to noodles or even macaroni, on the side.
In the second verse, the singer further asserts his desire for something interesting, rather than the typical pork and bacon chops. He emphasizes that he wants to consume something different, and that he doesn't want to settle for a mundane meal. He wants the frim fram sauce with the ausen fay and the chafafa on the side. The song highlights that eating can be adventurous and the pleasure that comes from it is in eating right, which here means eating something stimulating.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't want french fried potatoes,
Red ripe tomatoes,
I'm never satisfied.
I'm not content with basic, everyday meals like potatoes and tomatoes. They're too plain for me, and I need more variety in my food.
I want the frim fram sauce with the ausen fay
With chafafa on the side.
Instead, I want something unique and flavorful like frim fram sauce with ausen fay and chafafa on the side. I'm looking for that extra kick that simple foods can't provide.
I don't want pork chops and bacon,
That won't awaken
My appetite inside.
Pork chops and bacon are too common for me. They won't whet my appetite because they are not exciting enough.
A fella really got to eat
And a fella should eat right.
Five will get you ten
I'm gonna feed myself right tonight.
Eating is necessary for survival, but a person should also aim to eat well. I'm willing to invest money to indulge in good food for the night.
I don't want fish cakes and rye bread,
You heard what I said.
Waiter, please serve mine fried
Fish cakes and rye bread is another combination with no potential for exciting taste. I prefer crispy, fried food and I expect the waiter to prepare and serve it that way.
now if you don't have it, just bring me a check for the water!
If frim fram sauce with ausen fay and chafafa is not available, I would not purchase a meal from the restaurant. I would instead, leave and pay for the water I drank while waiting.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JOSEPH RICARDEL, REDD EVANS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jmarianosilva
I don't want french fried potatoes, red ripe tomatoes
I'm never satisfied
I want the frim fram sauce
With oss-en-fay with sha fafa on the side
I don't want pork chops and bacon
That won't awaken, my appetite inside
I want the frim fram sauce
With oss-en-fay with sha fafa on the side
Well you know a girl
She really got to eat
And a girl she should eat right
Five will get you ten
I'm going to feed myself right tonight
I don't want fish cakes and rye bread
You heard what I said
Waiter please, I want mine fried
I want the frim fram sauce
With oss-en-fay with sha fafa on the side
@taminabetesda9333
don't want French fried potatoes,
Red ripe tomatoes,
I'm never satisfied.
I want the frim fram sauce with the Ausen fay
With chafafa on the side.
I don't want pork chops and bacon,
That won't awaken
My appetite inside.
I want the frim fram sauce with the Ausen fay
With chafafa on the side.
Now a persons really got to eat
And a person should eat right.
Five will get you ten
I'm gonna feed myself right tonight.
I don't want fish cakes and rye bread,
You heard what I said.
Waiter, please serve mine fried
I want the frim fram sauce with the Ausen fay
With chafafa on the side.
Interlude Now a persons really got to eat
And a person should eat right.
Five will get you ten
I'm gonna feed myself right tonight.
I don't want fish cakes and rye bread,
You heard what I said.
Waiter, please serve mine fried
I want the frim fram sauce with the Ausen fay
With chafafa on the side.
I want the frim fram sauce with the ausen fay
With cha fafa, cha fafa, cha fafa, on the side
P-LEAZZZE!
@electrowavez1680
I don't want french fried potatoes,
Red ripe tomatoes,
I'm never satisfied.
I want the frim fram sauce with the ausen fay
With chafafa on the side.
I don't want pork chops and bacon,
That won't awaken
My appetite inside.
I want the frim fram sauce with the ausen fay
With chafafa on the side.
Now a fella really got to eat
And a fella should eat right.
Five will get you ten
I'm gonna feed myself right tonight.
I don't want fish cakes and rye bread,
You heard what I said.
Waiter, please serve mine fried
I want the frim fram sauce with the ausen fay
With chafafa on the side
@veronikaviol4656
I' m never satisfied
I want the Frim Fram Sauce
With the oss and fay
With shifafa on the side
I don' t want pork chops and bacon
That won' t awaken
My appetite IS HIGH. ***********
I want the Frim Fram Sauce
With the oss and fay
With shifafa on the side
Now you know
Girls. we really got to eat
And you know we should eat right
Five will get you ten
I' m gonna feed myself right tonight
I don' t want fish-cakes and Rye bread
You heard what I said
Waiter, please, I want mine fried
I want the Frim Fram Sauce
With the oss and fay
With shifafa on the side
Ooh, with shifafa, uh, on the side
@execelsior999
I only knew the Nat King Cole version and always liked it. Have just found this wonderful version - you really can not beat the GREAT Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong especially when they are together. Fantastic musicality!
@malvavisco10
Wow, I love this song, can’t believe I’d never heard this version. Just gorgeous! Can’t beat Ella & Louis
@tpledger100
You're listening to the Gold Standard of Jazz Duo's! WOW!
@haneefbowens87
Today is the day that I found out they made a song together! And I've never been more happier! The GOATS of jazz!
@carlrosenzweig1867
They have entire albums together, there's a lot more for you to enjoy.
@saskiavisser1279
Beautiful ❤❤
@michelberdah757
Your voice is so young Ella and Louis the appetite to sing so bright, thanks so much. It brings me light and joy in my heart
@djandersonny
I searched all over the Internets for a recipe for a nice Frim Fram Sauce. This is maybe the most delicious one I could find. Nat King Cole’s might be a tiny bit more authentic, simply because it’s earlier, but it lacks that certain “je ne sais quoi”, that nicely funky aroma, that Pops & Ella work into the mix.
@jtdavis62
Louis's recipe always starts with a little holy trinity (onions, celery, bell pepper).
@thesariahandjamyahchannel518
djandersonny you know it’s not REAL