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.
Ill Wind
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let me rest today
You're blowin' me no good (no good)
Go, ill wind, go away
Skies are oh-so gray
Around my neighborhood, and that's no good
Ain't that a shame
It's so hard to keep up with troubles that creep up
From out of nowhere, when love's to blame
So, ill wind, blow away
Let me rest today
You're blowin' me no good (no good)
You're only misleadin' the sunshine I'm needin'
Ain't that a shame
It's so hard to keep up with troubles that creep up
From out of nowhere, when love's to blame
So, ill wind, blow away
Let me rest today
You're blowin' me no good (no good)
Blow, ill wind, blow
away.
"Ill Wind" is a song performed by Louis Armstrong and written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler in 1934. The song tells the story of a person who is experiencing a lot of pain and difficulties in life because of a broken relationship. It is a song about the challenges that people face when they fall in love and the pain that comes with the end of a relationship. The lyrics present a perfect example of the classic blues structure, with the traditional ABAB rhyme pattern.
The singer in the song is asking the ill wind, which represents the troubles and problems in his life, to blow away and leave him alone for a day. The singer needs a break from the pain and misery that he is experiencing, and he is tired of dealing with all the difficulties that come with a broken relationship. The singer is asking for rest, peace, and quiet, and he is hoping that the ill wind will leave him alone so he can get on with his life.
The song is a reflection of the struggles that many people face when they fall in love with someone and find out that the relationship is not working out. The song captures the sense of frustration and despair that people feel when they realize that their love has come to an end. It is a beautiful and poignant song that reminds us of the pain and hardship that people go through when they fall in love.
Line by Line Meaning
Blow, ill wind, blow away
I wish this terrible wind would go away and give me some peace.
Let me rest today
I need to take a break from all the bad things happening around me and find some peace.
You're blowin' me no good (no good)
This ill wind is only bringing me more bad luck and misfortunes.
Go, ill wind, go away
I really wish this ill wind would just leave and never come back.
Skies are oh-so gray
The sky is dark and gloomy, reflecting the way I feel inside because of this wind.
Around my neighborhood, and that's no good
This wind is affecting my whole neighborhood, and the impact isn't good at all.
You're only misleadin' the sunshine I'm needin'
This wind is preventing me from finding the happiness I need and deserve.
Ain't that a shame
It's a terrible shame that this wind is causing me so much trouble and pain.
It's so hard to keep up with troubles that creep up
It's incredibly difficult to deal with problems that suddenly appear, especially when they're caused by love or relationships.
From out of nowhere, when love's to blame
Problems often arise unexpectedly, and it can be especially painful when they are related to love or relationships.
So, ill wind, blow away
Once again, I wish this ill wind would just disappear and let me find peace.
Let me rest today
I need some rest and a break from all the troubles this wind is causing.
You're blowin' me no good (no good)
Once again, this wind is only bringing me more bad luck and pain, and I want it to go away.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, S.A. MUSIC
Written by: HAROLD ARLEN, TED KOEHLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Gary Heaton
Wonderful song!! One of my favorites. Thanks for posting it.😉