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 Want A BigButter And EggMan
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From way out in the West
She wants somebody who's workin' all day
So she's got money when she wants to play
Now pretty clothes they'll never be mine
But what she told me the other day
I hope she don't change her mind
A great big butter and egg man
From way down South
Louis Armstrong's song "I Want A Big Butter And Egg Man" features lyrics that depict a woman who desires a man from the West, a big butter and egg man, who will work hard all day to provide her with financial stability to indulge in her desires. She expresses her desire for this kind of man, describing him as "a great big butter and egg man from way down South."
This song's meaning is open to interpretation, but it can be viewed as commentary on relationships between genders and social classes, particularly within the context of the early 20th century. The woman in the song seems to be actively seeking out a man who can provide her with financial stability, and it is implied that she is willing to use her feminine wiles to obtain this result. Meanwhile, the man who sings the song is content to serve as a kind of confidante, expressing his hope that she might not change her mind. In this way, the lyrics suggest that men and women had very different experiences within society, with women often being relegated to the role of objects of desire, while men were expected to provide financially for their partners.
The song's upbeat melody and Armstrong's signature scatting make it a classic example of early jazz music. Its lyrics' themes of social class and gender dynamics continue to be relevant, making it an enduring piece of musical history.
Line by Line Meaning
Now she wants a butter an egg man
She desires a partner with financial stability.
From way out in the West
She's stretching her search for such a mate to the Western region.
She wants somebody who's workin' all day
She seeks someone who works hard to earn his wealth.
So she's got money when she wants to play
To satisfy her leisurely activities, she wants to be with someone with enough money.
Now pretty clothes they'll never be mine
The artist cannot afford fine clothing.
But what she told me the other day
The singer recalls a conversation he had recently with this woman.
I hope she don't change her mind
The singer is worried that the woman may change her preference for a partner and lose interest.
Now she wants a butter an egg man
The woman's desire for financial stability remains unchanged.
A great big butter and egg man
She wants a very wealthy partner to support her lifestyle.
From way down South
She's open to finding a wealthy mate from the Southern region as well.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LOUIS ARMSTRONG, PERCY VENABLE
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