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 String Along With You
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
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String along with you, dear
I'll string along, string along
String along with you, dear
You may not be an angel
'Cause angels are so few
But until the day that one comes along
I'm looking for an angel
To sing my love song to
And until the day that one comes along
I'll sing my song to you
For every little fault that you have
Say I've got three or four
The human little faults you do have
Just make me love you more
You may not be an angel
But still I'm sure you'll do
So until the day that one comes along
I'll string along with you
You may not be an angel
'Cause angels are so few
But until the day that one comes along
I'll string along with you, say
I'm looking for an angel
To sing my love song to
And until the day that one comes along
Yes, I'll string along with you
For every little fault that she has
Say I've got three or four, maybe more
The little human faults she does have
Just make me love you more
You may not be an angel
But still I'm sure you'll do, oh yeah, yes
So until the day that one comes along
Yes, I'll string along with you
Until he finds an angel
I'll string, string along with you
String along
Louis Armstrong's song "I'll String Along With You" is a love song about accepting imperfection and choosing to love someone despite their faults. The first stanza describes the singer's willingness to stay with their partner, using the metaphor of "stringing along." The following verse acknowledges that their partner is not perfect, but the singer will remain faithful until they find someone who is an "angel." The chorus reiterates the theme of staying with someone despite their imperfections, and compares their partner's faults to the singer's own. The final verse reaffirms the singer's commitment to their partner, emphasizing that they will stay with them until they find their perfect match.
The lyrics of "I'll String Along With You" were written by Al Dubin, and the music was composed by Harry Warren. The song was originally written for the 1934 film "Twenty Million Sweethearts," but it has since been covered by numerous artists, including Bing Crosby and Diana Krall. The song has become a jazz standard and is often featured in movies and TV shows.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll string along, string along
I'll go along with you and follow your lead.
String along with you, dear
I will accompany you and be by your side.
You may not be an angel
You may not be perfect or flawless.
'Cause angels are so few
Because perfect people are rare to find.
But until the day that one comes along
Until I find someone perfect,
I'll string along with you
I'll still be with you and enjoy your company.
I'm looking for an angel
I am searching for a perfect person.
To sing my love song to
Someone to share my love with.
And until the day that one comes along
Until I find that perfect person I am looking for,
I'll sing my song to you
I will share my love with you for now.
For every little fault that you have
Even though you may have flaws or imperfections,
Say I've got three or four
I probably have more flaws than you do.
The human little faults you do have
These minor imperfections just make me love you more.
Just make me love you more
These flaws do not matter. I appreciate and love you for who you are.
But still I'm sure you'll do
You are still the right person for me.
Oh yeah, yes
Without a doubt.
Until he finds an angel
Until someone perfect comes along for him,
I'll string, string along with you
I'll continue to accompany and follow you.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Peermusic Publishing, Fintage House Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: AL DUBIN, HARRY WARREN
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