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 Never Knew
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Thought that I'd like to stay free
I never thought my time would come to marry
No wedding bells for me, I've changed my mind after all
You are the one made me fall, for
I used to smile at all the songs that were popular
Nothing but love in each song
Now I admit I'm wrong: love songs are part of my plan
Show me the minister man, for
I never knew I could love anybody, honey, like I'm loving you
I couldn't realize what a pair of eyes and a baby smile could do
I can't sleep, I can't eat
I never knew a single soul could be so sweet
I never knew I could love anybody, honey, like I'm loving you
Louis Armstrong's song I Never Knew is a beautiful declaration of love and a testament to how love can turn around even the most cynical and commitment-phobic people. The opening lines of the song reveal the singer's previous reluctance to settle down and get married. He always thought he'd prefer to be single, free and unencumbered. However, something has changed, and as he sings on, it becomes clear that he has met someone who has made him feel differently.
The lyrics speak of how he has been transformed by love and how he has become more open to the idea of committing to a lifelong relationship. He used to laugh at love songs and denounce them as foolish, but now he realizes that they are an essential part of his plan. He is now ready to take the next step and is asking to be shown the "minister man" so that he can get married.
The song's most striking lyrics are the refrain, "I never knew I could love anybody, honey, like I'm loving you." This line is heartfelt and genuinely moving, expressing the singer's amazement and surprise that love has transformed him in such a profound way. He is overjoyed and filled with wonder at this new way of being and expresses this through his lyrics.
Overall, the song is an ode to the power of love and how it can turn even the most cynical person into a believer. The lyrics are simple yet profound, and Armstrong's voice is full of emotion, making it impossible not to be moved by the song's message.
Line by Line Meaning
I always thought that I'd prefer single-blessed-ness
I believed that being single is the better option for me.
Thought that I'd like to stay free
I felt that staying independent is the way for me.
I never thought my time would come to marry
I had never considered the idea of marrying before.
No wedding bells for me, I've changed my mind after all
I didn't intend to get married, but I have now changed my view on the matter.
You are the one made me fall, for
You are the one who has caused me to change my mind about marriage.
I used to smile at all the songs that were popular
I used to enjoy all the popular songs.
Nothing but love in each song
Most of the songs I used to enjoy were love songs.
I used to think those kind of songs were foolish
I once had the belief that love songs were pointless.
Now I admit I'm wrong: love songs are part of my plan
I now realize that love songs hold meaning, and they are significant to me now.
Show me the minister man, for
I'm ready to get married, and I'm looking for the priest to carry out the ceremony.
I never knew I could love anybody, honey, like I'm loving you
I had never experienced the kind of love I have with you before.
I couldn't realize what a pair of eyes and a baby smile could do
I didn't know that a beautiful gaze and newborn smile would make me fall in love like this.
I can't sleep, I can't eat
I am so deeply in love with you that I have trouble sleeping and eating properly.
I never knew a single soul could be so sweet
I had no idea that one individual could be so heartwarming and caring.
I never knew I could love anybody, honey, like I'm loving you
I have never experienced love like the love I have for you.
Lyrics © CAPITOL CHRISTIAN MUSIC GROUP, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHNNY MERCER
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