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.
Ill Never Say Never Again Again
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
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The snows of December will bring you back to me
If we never meet again, I'll fall asleep in the flowers
And dream of the hours we spent in ecstasy
The leaves in the fall will wreak all the beauty I found in your eyes
The birds in the spring when they sing, will tell me that love never dies
If we never meet again, as sure as heaven above you
Louis Armstrong's song, "If We Never Meet Again," is a profound and poignant ballad, reflecting on the potential for separation from a loved one. The song speaks to the momentary nature of life and the inevitability of parting ways, yet offers a glimmer of hope in the comfort of memories and love. Through the use of vivid imagery, such as the snows of December bringing reminiscence or falling asleep in flowers and dreaming of ecstasy, Armstrong creates a mood that is wistful and nostalgic, tinged with a sense of longing.
The song's central thesis is that even if two lovers are separated for good, they can hold on to their feelings and memories to sustain them. There is an unending quality to Armstrong's love that sustains him even if they never meet again, "Forever I'll love you if we never meet again." The leaves in the fall will remind him of the beauty he found in his lover's eyes, and the birds in the spring will remind him that love never dies. It is an incredibly powerful and heart-wrenching idea that reaches out to anyone who has ever felt the pain of separation or loss.
Overall, "If We Never Meet Again" is a moving reminder of the power of love and the ability to hold its memory close, even in the face of life's uncertainties. The song acknowledges the potential for loss while offering a glimmer of hope and comfort that comes from remembering the beauty of the past.
Line by Line Meaning
If we never meet again, I'll have a rose to remember
If we don't see each other again, I will keep a rose as a memento of our love.
The snows of December will bring you back to me
In the winter, memories of you will come rushing back to me.
If we never meet again, I'll fall asleep in the flowers
If we never cross paths again, I will find solace among the flowers in peaceful slumber.
And dream of the hours we spent in ecstasy
I will dream of the moments we shared in sheer bliss and happiness.
The leaves in the fall will wreak all the beauty I found in your eyes
As autumn arrives, I will be reminded of how beautiful your eyes were to me.
The birds in the spring when they sing, will tell me that love never dies
The sweet melody of the birds in the springtime will remind me that love is everlasting.
If we never meet again, as sure as heaven above you
Even if we don't see each other again, I am certain that my love for you will never falter.
Forever I'll love you if we never meet again
My love for you is eternal, even if we never cross paths again.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ALBERT E. BRUMLEY
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