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 Had To Be You
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
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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
Louis Armstrong's song "It Had to Be You" is a soulful and sentimental tribute to the city of New Orleans. The lyrics express a strong yearning for the place, its atmosphere, and its people. The first stanza expresses this deep longing for the city, which seems to be growing stronger as time goes by. The second stanza goes into more detail, describing some of the specific sights and sounds the singer misses, like the moss-covered vines and the Mississippi River. The third stanza focuses on the moonlight on the bayou and the creole music that is so characteristic of the city. The final stanza brings the song full circle, returning to the idea that the singer's heart is still in New Orleans, where he left the one he cares for.
Line by Line Meaning
Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans
Do you understand the intense longing and nostalgia for the city of New Orleans?
And miss it each night and day?
This yearning is ever-present and constant, whether it's day or night.
I know I'm not wrong; this feeling's gettin' stronger
I am certain that my feelings are justified, and they are only intensifying with time.
The longer I stay away
In fact, the further I am from New Orleans the harder it is to bear this homesickness.
Miss them moss-covered vines, the tall sugar pines
I miss the lush and verdant nature of New Orleans, filled with moss and tall trees.
Where mockin' birds used to sing
I long for the sounds of birds singing and filling the air with their melodies.
And I'd like to see that lazy Mississippi hurryin' into spring
I have a strong desire to witness the Mississippi River lazily flowing, and to experience the changes of the seasons in this city.
The moonlight on the Bayou, a creole tune that fills the air
I often dream about the beautiful moonlit nights on the Bayou, with the sounds of the distinct Creole music that permeates the air.
I dream about magnolias in bloom and I'm wishin' I was there
My dreams are full of the gorgeous magnolia trees in full bloom, and I long to be back in New Orleans to experience their beauty firsthand.
And there's one thing more: I miss the one I care for
Besides the city, there is someone special who I miss deeply and cannot stop thinking about.
More than I miss New Orleans
My love for this person eclipses even my strong love for the city of New Orleans, which says a great deal about how significant they are to me.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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