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 Know That You Know
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ev'ry chap should hold a heart that's all his own
Love may come at first sight, they told me
When I saw you, I knew
That I had found my only love
When I found you
So, darling, I know that you know
I choose you, won't lose you
I wish you knew how much I long to hold you in my arms
This time is my time
T'will soon be goodbye time
Then in the star light, hold me tight
With one more little kiss say nighty night
So, darling, I know that you know
That I'll go where you go
I choose you, won't lose you
I wish you knew how much I long to hold you in my arms
Louis Armstrong's "I Know That You Know" is a song that speaks of the longing for love and the desire to have someone to share your life with. The lyrics suggest that life is a game that cannot be played alone, and that everyone needs someone to hold onto. The song talks about love at first sight, and how the singer knew immediately that they had found their true love when they saw the person they are addressing in the song.
The lyrics are filled with a sense of longing and desire to be with the person they love. The singer chooses the person they love and vows not to lose them. They express their longing to hold them tightly in their arms and ask for one more kiss before they go to bed. The song speaks to the universal human desire for love and companionship, and it is this theme that makes it timeless.
In conclusion, "I Know That You Know" is a beautiful love song that captures the feeling of longing and desire for love. The lyrics express the human need for companionship and affection, which makes it a timeless classic that will resonate with generations to come.
Line by Line Meaning
Life's a game, but who can play it all alone
Life is like a challenging game, where we all need someone to accompany us through it.
Ev'ry chap should hold a heart that's all his own
Everyone deserves to find love and keep it to themselves.
Love may come at first sight, they told me
People say that sometimes love happens at the first look.
When I saw you, I knew
As soon as I saw you, I had an instant feeling that you were the one for me.
That I had found my only love
I discovered my one true love, the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.
So, darling, I know that you know
My love, I am confident that you understand my feelings for you.
That I'll go where you go
I will follow you wherever you go, because I want to be with you always.
I choose you, won't lose you
I have decided to pick you as my partner, and I don't want to lose you ever.
I wish you knew how much I long to hold you in my arms
I am dying to embrace you tightly in my arms, and I wish you could feel the same way.
This time is my time
This moment belongs to me, to cherish and to remember.
T'will soon be goodbye time
Our time together will come to an end very soon, unfortunately.
Then in the star light, hold me tight
Before we part, let's spend some time together, holding each other tightly, gazing the stars above.
With one more little kiss say nighty night
Let's say a sweet goodbye to each other with one last small and tender kiss.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANNE CALDWELL, VINCENT YOUMANS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@rslashbri
Do you know what it means
To miss New Orleans
And miss it each night and day
I know I'm not wrong
The feeling's getting stronger
The longer I stay away
Miss the moist covered vines
The tall sugar pines
Where mocking birds used to sing
And I'd like to see the lazy Mississippi
A hurrying into spring
The Mardi Gras memories
Of creole tunes that filled the air
I dream of oleanders in June
And soon I'm wishing that I was there
Do you know what it means
To miss New Orleans
When that's where you left your heart
And there's something more
I miss the one I care for
More than I miss New Orleans
@uhtred5574
Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans
And miss it each night and day
I know I'm not wrong this feeling's gettin' stronger
The longer, I stay away
Miss them moss covered vines the tall sugar pines
Where mockin' birds used to sing
And I'd like to see that lazy Mississippi hurryin' into spring
The moonlight on the bayou a creole tune that fills the air
I dream about magnolias in bloom and I'm wishin' I was there
Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans
When that's where you left your heart
And there's one thing more I miss the one I care for
More than I miss New Orleans
The moonlight on the bayou a creole tune that fills the air
I dream about magnolias in bloom and I'm wishin' I was there
Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans
When that's where you left your heart
And there's one thing more I miss the one I care for
More more than I miss New Orleans
@keanulechat2510
Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans
And miss it each night and day
I know I'm not wrong, the feeling's getting stronger
The longer I stay away
Miss the moss-covered vines, tall sugar pines
Where mockingbirds used to sing
I'd love to see that old lazy Mississippi
Hurrying into Spring
The moonlight on the bayou
A Creole tune that fills the air
I dream about magnolias in bloom
And I'm wishin' I was there
Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans
When that's where you left your heart
And there's one thing more, I miss the one I care for
More than I miss New Orleans
@kilouis
Recorded live in Chicago at Medina Temple on June 1st,1956
Louis Armstrong - Trumpet,vocal
Edmond Hall - Clarinet,vocal
Trummy Young - Trombone,vocal
Billy Kyle - Piano
Dale Jones - Bass
Barrett Deems - Drums
Velma Middleton - Vocals
@scorpionola7457
There's a very good reason why we're consistently rated the happiest people in the USA in spite of the beatings we constantly take from Mother Nature (including this one). She can beat us all she wants (and she does) but she will never defeat us. I'm a Bywater New Orleanian who's been away on "vacation" for over a week and the homesickness is killing me already. Merci bon Dieu pour la Louisiane.
@firefall5748
For real .. New Orleans is the happiest place I've ever lived. It's also Drunk Central, which possibly has some effect on this :D
@InnocentKhajiit
As a frenchman, you have no idea how happy I am from your last sentence.
@cynthiahawkins2389
My husband lived in Jackson Sq for 30+ years, working on the waterfront, with a few of the Nevilles, who were merchant seamen before they took up music. Ric came up North, after Katrina in 2005, and happened to walk into my classroom, where I was teaching. (He was actually looking for the men's room).We married in 2008, and live in NYC now, but next year we are moving back. I will be a NOLA-newbie, and I can't wait!!!!
@cybelewilson8910
Oui Merci! Et bonjour de tes cousins du Quebec qui Aime la Louisiane ;)
@buttersstotch744
laissez le bon temps rouler toujours...
@purpleisaflavor
I left half my heart there as well. Can't wait until the day I can call this beautiful city home.
@zombiecow1909
same here my friend.
@thejoydivision8
Have you make it there yet?
@purpleisaflavor
@D D I lived there for 3 beautiful years and am presently in love with southwest New Mexico