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'm Just A Lucky So And So
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Seems everyone I meet
Gives me a friendly hello
I guess I'm just a lucky so and so
The birds in every tree
Are all so neighborly
They sing wherever I go
If you should ask me the amount
In my bank account
I'd have to confess that I'm slippin'
But that don't worry me, confidentially
I've got a dream that's a pippin'
And when the day is through
Each night I hurry to
A home where love waits, I know
I guess I'm just a lucky so and so
And when the day is through
Each night I hurry to
A home where love waits, I know
I guess I'm just a lucky so and so
I'm just a lucky, lucky so and so
Louis Armstrong's "I'm Just A Lucky So And So" is a song that celebrates gratitude, hope, and the simple pleasures in life. The singer of the song is grateful for the kind and friendly people he meets on the street, the birds that sing along his way, and the love that awaits him at home. He is not wealthy or successful in material terms, but he still feels lucky because he has a dream and a sense of contentment that money can't buy.
The lyrics of the song are filled with metaphors that depict the beauty of life in different ways. The people on the street represent the kindness and goodness in the world and the birds symbolize the joy and freedom of nature. The dream that the singer has is described as a pippin, which means an outstanding or very good thing. The line "But that don't worry me, confidentially" suggests that the singer doesn't care about his financial situation because he has something else that gives him happiness and fulfillment.
At the heart of the song is the idea that luck is not just about material wealth, but it's also about the intangible blessings in life such as love, friendship, and hope. The singer is lucky because he has these things, and they make him feel rich in a way that money cannot. The song is a reminder to appreciate the small things in life and to be grateful for what we have.
Line by Line Meaning
As I walk down the street
As I stroll through the streets
Seems everyone I meet
It seems like everyone I encounter
Gives me a friendly hello
Greet me with a friendly smile
I guess I'm just a lucky so and so
Perhaps I'm fortunate after all
The birds in every tree
All the birds in the trees
Are all so neighborly
Are so friendly and kind
They sing wherever I go
They sing no matter where I walk
I guess I'm just a lucky so and so
Perhaps I'm lucky after all
If you should ask me the amount
If you were to inquire the sum
In my bank account
That I have in my bank account
I'd have to confess that I'm slippin'
I must admit that I'm falling behind
But that don't worry me, confidentially
But I'm not concerned secretly
I've got a dream that's a pippin'
I possess a dream that's extraordinary
And when the day is through
And at the end of the day
Each night I hurry to
Every night I rush to
A home where love waits, I know
A home where love is present, I'm aware
I guess I'm just a lucky so and so
Perhaps I am merely a fortunate individual
And when the day is through
And at the end of the day
Each night I hurry to
Every night I rush to
A home where love waits, I know
A home where love is present, I'm aware
I guess I'm just a lucky so and so
Perhaps I am merely a fortunate individual
I'm just a lucky, lucky so and so
I'm just a very lucky person
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DUKE ELLINGTON, MACK DAVID
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@deanbowlingKSR
MUS 300- 001 Dean Bowling
1. Performers
Vocals- Louis Armstrong
Piano- Duke Ellington
Bass- Mort Herbert
Drums- Danny Barcelona
2. Style of Jazz
Vocal Jazz
3. Form
???
4. Reason for Inclusion
Of course, a huge fan of Louis' voice, and I think it's interesting how his vocals are, in a way, dueling with Duke's piano, though it's really peaceful. It's kinda blues-y in the way Duke answers Louis sometimes.
@leoncoda
LETRA.- As I walk down the street
Seems everyone I meet
Gives me a friendly hello
I guess I'm just a lucky so and so
The birds in every tree
Are all so neighborly
They sing wherever I go
I guess I'm just a lucky so and so
If you should ask me the amount
In my bank account
I'd have to confess that I'm slippin'
But that don't worry me, confidentially
I've got a dream that's a-pippin'
And when the day is through
Each night I hurry to
A home where love waits, I know
I guess I'm just a lucky so and so
@LSDEe2002
My grandmother always has a smile when play blues she loves Duke Ellington piano skills very much ❤
@alleycatalog
This whole album is like an old friend I get to sit down and catch up with every now and then.
@anthonymartin874
Well said😊
@juanbento5748
Masterpiece
@daleharvey3826
When Mr. Armstrong starts singing one must smile!
@johnkemp7380
This is one of the best albums I know. So underrated.
@txhusker5702
Recorded @ RCA Victor Studio One on East 24th Street in NYC on 3 or 4 April 1961. Producer was Bob Thiele. Composed by Ellington with lyrics by Mack David. Originally issued on "Together for the First Time" (Roulette SR 52074).
@31cify
To find this on You Tube, ooooh, I'me a lucky so and so.
@heyump1432
A great listen on my wedding anniversary ❤ 😍 💕
@MrTrautman2
Found this on my playlist from a compilation CD that i love!!!! Can't get enough of the late, great Satchmo!!