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.
I'll Keep The Lovelight Burning
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So that you can find your way to me For you,
There's such a yearning in my heart Darling it will burn eternally
The flame will grow into a fire
As bright as any star above
So let the glow of my desire Light your way to my love I'll keep the lovelight burning in my heart
The flame will grow into a fire
As bright as any star above
So let the glow of my desire
Light your way to my love
I'll keep the lovelight burning in my heart
So that you can find your way to me
Louis Armstrong's "I'll Keep The Lovelight Burning" is a song about longing for someone and keeping the love alive. The lyrics are a declaration of one person's love for another and their commitment to keeping the "lovelight" burning in their heart forever. The imagery of the "lovelight" burning is a metaphor for the fire of love that the singer feels for the other person. The first verse describes the singer's yearning and desire for the person they love. They promise to keep the "lovelight" burning bright so that the other person can find their way back to them.
The second verse expands on the idea of the "lovelight" growing into a fire as bright as any star above. This fire is fueled by the singer's desire for the other person and is meant to guide them back to their love. Overall, the song is a heartfelt expression of love and dedication. It is a reminder that no matter how far apart two people may be, their love can still burn bright and guide them back to each other.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll keep the lovelight burning in my heart
I will always have love for you in my heart.
So that you can find your way to me
My love will guide you to me.
For you, there's such a yearning in my heart
I long for you and love you deeply.
Darling it will burn eternally
My love for you will never fade.
The flame will grow into a fire
My love will intensify over time.
As bright as any star above
My love will shine brightly and be everlasting.
So let the glow of my desire
Let my passion guide you to me.
Light your way to my love
Let my love lead you to me.
Writer(s): George Weiss, Bennie Benjamin
Contributed by Elizabeth H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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