Louis Armstrong (August 4, 1901 - July 6, 1971) nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, … Read Full Bio ↴Louis Armstrong (August 4, 1901 - July 6, 1971) nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana.
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.

It's A Most Unusual Day
Louis Armstrong Lyrics

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It's a most unusual day
Feel like throwing my worries away
As an old native-born Californian would say
It's a most unusual day

There's a most unusual sky
Not a sign of a cloud passing by
And if I want to sing, throw my heart in the ring

It's a most unusual day

There are people meeting people
There is sunshine everywhere
There are people greeting people
And a feeling of Spring in the air

It's a most unusual time
I keep feeling my temperature climb
If my heart won't behave in the usual way
Well, there's only one thing to say
It's a most unusual day

There are people meeting people
There is sunshine everywhere
There are people greeting people
And a feeling of Spring in the air

I keep feeling my temperature climb, climb, climb, climb, climb, climb, climb
Till there is only one thing to say
It's a most, most, most, most, most unusual, most unusual

Most unusual day
Most unusual day

Overall Meaning

Louis Armstrong's "It's A Most Unusual Day" is a playful and joyous song that celebrates the beauty of life in the present moment. The song is about a day that is so perfect and extraordinary that one can't help but feel happy and carefree. The first verse sets the tone for the rest of the song by expressing the desire to let go of one's worries and enjoy the day. The reference to an "old native-born Californian" adds a touch of nostalgia and highlights the idea that this kind of day is rare and precious.

The second verse describes an unusual sky, clear and cloudless, which creates a feeling of lightness and possibility. The singer feels so happy that they want to sing and throw their heart into it. The chorus of the song conveys the feeling of connection and warmth shared between people, with everyone greeting each other and the sunshine everywhere. The feeling of spring in the air adds to this atmosphere of renewal and possibility.

The final verse discusses the singer's physical reaction to the day, with their temperature climbing, possibly a reference to the excitement and anticipation that comes with such a day. The line "If my heart won't behave in the usual way" implies that this kind of day is rare and unexpected, and therefore one should embrace it fully.

Overall, "It's A Most Unusual Day" is a song about the joy of living in the present moment and appreciating the beauty of life's unpredictable moments.

Line by Line Meaning

It's a most unusual day
Today is a peculiar day

Feel like throwing my worries away
I feel like getting rid of all my problems

There's a most unusual sky
The sky is notably unusual

Not a sign of a cloud passing by
There are no clouds in the sky

And if I want to sing, throw my heart in the ring
If I want to sing, I will give it my all

There are people meeting people
People are coming together

There is sunshine everywhere
The sun is shining everywhere

There are people greeting people
People are welcoming each other

And a feeling of Spring in the air
There is a sense of Spring in the atmosphere

It's a most unusual time
This is an uncommon duration

I keep feeling my temperature climb
I am experiencing a growing excitement