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've Got The Felling I'm Falling
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fallin' for nobody else but you
Mama, you caught my eye and I've got a feelin' I'm fallin'
Show me the ring and I'll jump right through
I used to travel single-o; we chanced to mingle-o
Now I'm a-tingle over you
Hey, Mister Parson, stand by, but I've got a feelin' I'm fallin'
The song "I've Got A Feeling I'm Falling" by Louis Armstrong and His All Stars is a classic example of the romantic genre of jazz music. It's about a man who has fallen head over heels in love with a woman and is willing to do anything for her. The lyrics "Now I'm flyin' high, but I’ve got a feeling I'm falling" use a clever play on words to describe the singer's emotional state. He's both soaring with joy from being in love and also experiencing a sense of falling, metaphorically surrendering himself to his emotions.
The next few verses build on this premise, with the singer expressing his desire to be with the woman he loves. The line, "Show me the ring and I'll jump right through," hints at the idea of marriage, as opposed to just a casual romance. The third verse follows the same theme, with the singer asking a presiding authority, "Hey, Mister Parson, stand by, but I've got a feelin' I'm fallin'." The implication here is that he would like to get married to this woman as soon as possible.
Line by Line Meaning
Now I'm flyin' high, but I've got a feelin' I'm fallin'
Although I may be happy and successful right now, I can't help but feel like I might stumble and fall.
Fallin' for nobody else but you
I'm not interested in anyone else but you.
Mama, you caught my eye and I've got a feelin' I'm fallin'
You have my full attention and I am falling in love with you.
Show me the ring and I'll jump right through
If you ask me to marry you, I would happily say yes without hesitation.
I used to travel single-o; we chanced to mingle-o
I used to be a lone traveler, but fate brought us together.
Now I'm a-tingle over you
I am excited and nervous over the thought of being with you.
Hey, Mister Parson, stand by, but I've got a feelin' I'm fallin'
Even though there may be someone else present, my heart belongs to you.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, O/B/O DistroKid, Downtown Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HARRY LINK, FATS WALLER, BILLY ROSE, FRITZ ROTTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@davidwise9487
Unbeatable combination!
Satchmo playing Fats Waller!
Legendary.
@davidwise9487
Scat,riffs and that amazing trumpet playing!
Add a hurricane and you’re
in New Orleans at Al Hirts!
@danielzonneveld7712
Absolute gold
@thendrjazz
From Michael Minn's excellent Louis Armstrong discography, this tune for this album was recorded April 1955 with Billy Kyle on p. Barney Bigard,cl; Trummy Young, trb; Arvell Shaw, sb; Barrett Deems, d. Playing with the wonders of 1950s studios, this original version includes an overdub of Louis singing over his own trumpet solo. There are also version without the overdub and with some edits.
@fleuristesaida8748
Piano et saxophone. J adore. 💕💕💕💕
@nandofigueira2005
is a gem
@yeetusboi1044
This
@mioangisangtao
frickin' amazing bro
@boopbop2698
I LOVE THIS
@8billionidiotsonaplanet65
very nice song