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.
Hesitating Blues
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wanna talk to that high brown of mine
Tell me how long will I have to wait
Please give me two ninety eight, why do you hesitate?
Oh, what you say, can't talk to my brown?
A storm last night blowed the wires all down
Now, tell me how long will I have to wait
Say, Sunday night, my beau proposed to me
Said, he'd be happy if his wife I'd be
Said he, "How long, baby, will I have to wait?"
Come be my wife, my Kate, why do you hesitate?
Say, I declined him, it was just for a stall
He left that night on the cannonball
Honey, oh honey, how long, will I have to wait?
Oh, won't you tell me now, baby, why do you hesitate?
The song "Hesitating Blues" by Louis Armstrong is a classic example of the blues genre. The song is a conversation between Armstrong and the operator at the telephone company. Armstrong wants to talk to his lover, a "high brown", but is having trouble getting through to her. He asks the operator how long he will have to wait and why she's hesitating to connect him. The operator tells him that a storm knocked the wires down and that he will have to wait. Armstrong goes on to tell the operator about his recent proposal from his lover and how she hesitated to say yes. He mentions that he declined the proposal as a "stall", but eventually wants to marry her.
The song "Hesitating Blues" is a great representation of the blues genre with its simple structure, repetition, and raw emotion. It's also interesting to note that Armstrong usually played the trumpet, but in this song, he showcases his vocal abilities.
Line by Line Meaning
Hello central, what's the matter with this line?
Louis is asking the operator about the poor connection and inquiring about his girlfriend.
I wanna talk to that high brown of mine
Louis expresses his desire to speak with his girlfriend, who is light-skinned.
Tell me how long will I have to wait
Louis wants to know how long he will have to wait until he can talk to his lover.
Please give me two ninety eight, why do you hesitate?
Louis is requesting the operator to connect him with his girlfriend's number and wonders why it's taking so long.
Oh, what you say, can't talk to my brown?
Louis is reacting to the operator's response that he can't talk to his girlfriend.
A storm last night blowed the wires all down
The operator explains to Louis that a storm damaged the telephone pole and that's why he's having trouble connecting the call.
Now, tell me how long will I have to wait
Louis repeats his question about when he can talk to his girlfriend.
Oh, won't you tell me now, why do you hesitate?
Louis implores the operator for an immediate answer to his question.
Say, Sunday night, my beau proposed to me
Louis shares an anecdote about his girlfriend's marriage proposal from another man on Sunday night.
Said, he'd be happy if his wife I'd be
The proposal was from a man who expressed his happiness if his girlfriend would become his wife.
Said he, "How long, baby, will I have to wait?"
The man proposing asked Louis's girlfriend how long he would need to wait for her answer.
Come be my wife, my Kate, why do you hesitate?
The man asking for Louis's girlfriend's hand in marriage is affectionately calling her Kate and is inquiring about her answer.
Say, I declined him, it was just for a stall
Louis informs the audience that his girlfriend did not accept the proposal for temporary reasons.
He left that night on the cannonball
The man who proposed left soon after his declined proposal on a train called the cannonball.
Honey, oh honey, how long, will I have to wait?
Louis repeats his question regarding how long he will have to wait to talk to his girlfriend.
Oh, won't you tell me now, baby, why do you hesitate?
Louis implores the operator once more for an immediate answer to his question.
Lyrics © HANDY BROTHERS MUSIC CO.,INC.
Written by: JACK CASADY, JORMA KAUKONEN
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