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.
Kickin' the Gong Around
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I want my Minnie!
Has she been here,
Kicking the gong around?"
"If you don't know Minnie
She's tall and skinny
She gets her pleasure
My Minnie
Oh I'm crazy for Minnie
Look at that gal
Kicking the gong around!"
The lyrics to Louis Armstrong's song Kickin' the Gong Around are about a woman named Minnie who enjoys doing drugs and partying, specifically by "kicking the gong around," which is a reference to smoking opium. The first set of lyrics shows the singer's desire for Minnie and his question as to whether she has been around lately. The second set of lyrics describe Minnie as tall and skinny, and her enjoyment of getting high.
The theme of drug use is prevalent throughout the song, as well as the idea of living a carefree and reckless lifestyle. The lyrics also touch on themes such as addiction, desire, and hedonism. The use of slang and euphemisms for opium use add to the playful but dark tone of the song.
Overall, the lyrics suggest a sense of excitement and danger associated with living a wild and uninhibited lifestyle, but also warn of the consequences that come with addiction and recklessness.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh Minnie
Oh, where is my love Minnie, who I cannot stop thinking about
I want my Minnie!
I desire the presence of my love Minnie
Has she been here,
Has anyone seen or heard from her?
Kicking the gong around?
Engaging in excessive drug use, particularly smoking opium
If you don't know Minnie
If you are not familiar with my girlfriend Minnie
She's tall and skinny
She is a thin and tall woman
She gets her pleasure
She enjoys
Kicking the gong around!
Engaging in excessive drug use, particularly smoking opium
My Minnie
My beloved girlfriend Minnie
Oh I'm crazy for Minnie
I am deeply in love with Minnie and cannot contain my emotions
Look at that gal
Take note of that woman
Kicking the gong around!
Engaging in excessive drug use, particularly smoking opium
Contributed by Wyatt N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Vern Marshall
Only Louis could crack up in the middle of a vocal line and make it sound a good outcome, and he makes the challenge of double-timing the middle section sound like a stroll in the park (the band handles it expertly, too)
jazzwatch64
Got this one...the band screws it up a little ,but Armstrong is AWESOME as usual.....3 stars.....
Joe Ray
One of my favorite Armstong tracks, mistakes and all!
Yastreblyansky
Kickin' the Gong Around by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler Recorded January 5, 1932 in Chicago by Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra What genius and joy in this cover of a song made famous by Cab Calloway!
Eric Healand
This is not a cover - it was recorded in January 1932 - Cab Calloway recorded his version in December 1933, nearly 2 years later.
Eric Healand
Tommie Andersson Thanks - my bad. Like Satch's and Cab's versions anyway
Yastreblyansky
Performance data from the great website The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong: Louis Armstrong, trumpet, vocal; Preston Jackson, trombone; Lester Boone, clarinet, alto saxophone; George James, alto saxophone, soprano saxophone; Albert Washington, tenor saxophone; Charlie Alexander, piano; Mike McKendrick, guitar; John Lindsay, bass; Tubby Hall, drums; Joe “Little Joe” Lindsay, woodblocks, talk.