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 a Heart Full of Rhythm
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ain't got nothing to eat
But I've got a heart full of rhythm
Not a dime to my name
But I'm rich just the same
'Cause I've got a heart full of rhythm
When sky's look gray
I'll find my way, mama, by singin' a song
Let the great think I'm small
I can laugh at them all
'Cause I've got a heart full of rhythm
Louis Armstrong’s song "I've Got a Heart Full of Rhythm" is about having a positive attitude and focusing on the things that really matter in life. The first two lines of the song describe a very difficult situation - the singer doesn't have shoes on his feet and he has nothing to eat. Despite his struggles, however, the singer is not defeated, because he has a heart full of rhythm. This line implies that the singer has something much more important than material possessions or riches; he has a powerful sense of rhythm, joy, and energy.
In the second verse, the singer explains that even when things look bad, he can still find a way to be happy and content by singing a song. He doesn't let other people's opinions or judgments affect him, because he knows that he has an important and valuable quality that no one can take away from him: his heart full of rhythm. This song is very inspiring as Armstrong sings about moving forward, staying positive and making the best out of a terrible situation. It is a reminder to look beyond material things and focus on what really matters.
Line by Line Meaning
Got no shoes on my feet
I am lacking shoes to cover my feet
Ain't got nothing to eat
I have no food to consume
But I've got a heart full of rhythm
Despite lacking shoes and food, I possess a heart full of rhythm and musical energy that uplifts me
Not a dime to my name
I don't have any money at all
But I'm rich just the same
However, I am rich within my heart from my music and my ability to bring joy to others
'Cause I've got a heart full of rhythm
This line reiterates the sentiment of the previous line, highlighting the value of the singer's internal spirit
When sky's look gray
When the sky appears overcast and gloomy
And every thing's wrong
When things seem to be going terribly
I'll find my way, mama, by singin' a song
The artist is confident that they can find a way out of tough times by expressing himself and find comfort in the power of music through singing
Let the great think I'm small
If people with more means and material goods belittle me, so be it, I won't be concerned
I can laugh at them all
The singer will not be intimidated, and instead will laugh at these people who are ignorant of the power of music in uplifting a person's spirit
'Cause I've got a heart full of rhythm
Once again, the artist emphasizes the resilient and uplifting purpose that music serves for him
Contributed by Elizabeth F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
jazzwatch64
Vintage Louis.....nice Paul Barbarin drumming.......Albert Nichols clarinet....band sounding better. 3 stars....
Jon Day
Brilliant. Fine lyrics.
Marie Ralph
Thanks, cdbpdx! Pops is Tops! Louis Armstrong And His Orchestra July 7, 1937, New York City, New York, NY Louis co-wrote this tune.
liberty tree
Absolutely brilliant. I see someone else had the same comment, you know it is what it is. This is Louis at his finest. When his skills were physically the best, and his craft was honed.
Marcus Campbell
Now that is JAZZ