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.
Ko Ko Mo
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Talk to me baby, whisper in my ear,
a come a little closer, don't you have no fear!
Don't you know? I love you so!
Don't you know? I love you so!
When I holler "Hey! Ko-Ko-Mo!"
Heard what you told me, heard what you said!
Heard what you told me, heard what you said!
Don't you worry my purdy, I don't lose my head!
There's dimples on my elbows, dimples on her knees,
dimples on my elbows, dimples on her knees,
she thrills an' thrills me, just a little squeeze!
(Ko, Ko, Ko-Ko-Mo! Ko, Ko, Ko-Ko-Mo!
Ko, Ko, Ko-Ko-Mo!)
Don't you know Ko-Ko-Mo that I love you so!
Oh talk to me baby (talk, talk!) whisper in my ear (talk, talk, talk!)
Oh talk to me baby (talk, talk!) whisper in my ear (talk, talk, talk!)
(Tell it to me!) come a little closer, don't you have no fear!
Ah! Don't you know? I love you so!
Don't you know? ~ I love you so!
When I holler "Hey! ( Hey! ) Ko-Ko-Mo!"
(Ko-Ko-Mo! Ko-Ko-Mo! Ko-Ko-Mo!)
Don't you know
I love you Ko-Ko-Mo!
Ko-Ko-Mo!
The lyrics of Louis Armstrong’s Ko Ko Mo are an amalgamation of sweet-talk intermingled with enthusiastic hollering. The song begins with a request for whispers in the ear and encouragement to come closer without fear. The repetition of the titular phrase "Ko-Ko-Mo" as a holler adds a sense of urgency and excitement to the song. The lyrics of the chorus - "Don't you know? I love you so!" - convey a clear message of love and affection.
The second stanza of the song revolves around the playful banter between the two lovers. The singer talks about how he has heard what his partner has told him, and he's not worried as he doesn't lose his head. The lyrics soon move on to talk about the physical attributes of the lovers - dimples on the singer's elbows and the singer's partner's knees, which always thrill him. Despite not having any deep, thought-provoking meaning, the song is a cheerful and catchy number that would make anyone want to dance.
Line by Line Meaning
Talk to me baby, whisper in my ear, a come a little closer, don't you have no fear!
My dear, why stand afar? Come closer, with the gentlest of whispers make your desires known.
Don't you know? I love you so! Don't you know? I love you so! When I holler "Hey! Ko-Ko-Mo!"
You are my heart's desire, I cannot hide it. When I shout your name, it's just a declaration of affection.
Heard what you told me, heard what you said! Heard what you told me, heard what you said! Don't you worry my purdy, I don't lose my head!
I listened and paid close attention to your words. I acknowledge your concerns, but let not worry cloud your beauty, for I remain focused.
There's dimples on my elbows, dimples on her knees, dimples on my elbows, dimples on her knees, she thrills an' thrills me, just a little squeeze!
Our physical differences don't matter, for we share moments that ignite intense pleasure. A simple touch sends chills down my spine.
(Ko, Ko, Ko-Ko-Mo! Ko, Ko, Ko-Ko-Mo! Ko, Ko, Ko-Ko-Mo!)
Oh, Ko-Ko-Mo, come to me now
Don't you know Ko-Ko-Mo that I love you so! Oh talk to me baby (talk, talk!) whisper in my ear (talk, talk, talk!) Oh talk to me baby (talk, talk!) whisper in my ear (talk, talk, talk!) (Tell it to me!) come a little closer, don't you have no fear!
Dear Ko-Ko-Mo, my feelings for you are strong, and I long to hear your voice closely. Share with me your thoughts, come closer without any worries.
Ah! Don't you know? I love you so! Don't you know? I love you so! When I holler "Hey! ( Hey! ) Ko-Ko-Mo!"
My heart and soul are yours, acknowledge my love, for when I call out your name, it's just an expression of what we share.
(Ko-Ko-Mo! Ko-Ko-Mo! Ko-Ko-Mo!)
Oh, Ko-Ko-Mo, my love
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Eunice Hazel Levy, Jake Porter, Forrest Wilson
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