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.
Let That Be a Lesson to You
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And he sailed the sea in 1492
But the good Queen Isabella
Found a more attractive fella
And Columbus wound up in the junkeroo
Oh, let that be a lesson to you
Everybody meets his Waterloo
He wasn't too big to end up behind the eight ball
In the lyrics of Louis Armstrong's "Let That Be a Lesson to You," the artist presents a cautionary tale about the famed explorer Christopher Columbus. He highlights how Columbus sailed across the sea in 1492 to discover America, but what transpired after that is rather bleak. Queen Isabella, who supported Columbus financially during his voyage, found another man more attractive than Columbus. As a consequence, Columbus was abandoned and thrown into the "junkeroo," or garbage heap. The lyrics present Columbus as a symbol of a man who fell from grace due to external circumstances beyond his control.
The song's message is simple: anyone can face failure at any time, even someone as celebrated as Columbus. Armstrong cautions listeners that everyone has their own "Waterloo," a moment that leads to their downfall. He challenges people not to be too full of themselves and reminds them that there is still plenty of time to make a comeback. The lyrics may come across as pessimistic, but Armstrong's soulful voice oozes optimism, urging listeners not to give up hope.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, Columbus was the discoverer of America
Columbus was the one who discovered America, as per conventional historical accounts.
And he sailed the sea in 1492
1492 was the year Columbus embarked on his journey across the sea towards discovering America.
But the good Queen Isabella
Queen Isabella, who funded Columbus' expedition, is referred to as 'good' sarcastically.
Found a more attractive fella
Isabella found someone more attractive than Columbus to pay attention to.
And Columbus wound up in the junkeroo
Ending up in the junkeroo means being looked down upon or rejected in society, Columbus was looked down upon after returning without treasure to show.
Oh, let that be a lesson to you
This line implies that we should take a lesson from Columbus' fate and not be overconfident in the face of uncertainty.
Everybody meets his Waterloo
Waterloo alludes to the legendary battle that Napoleon lost, implying that everyone has to face their own losses and setbacks at some point.
He wasn't too big to end up behind the eight ball
Being behind the eight ball means being at a disadvantage or facing difficulty, this line suggests that even someone as great as Columbus could face such a situation.
And remember, buddy, there's still lots of room for you
This line is an encouragement that declares there is still plenty of room for success going forward.
Lyrics © Spirit Music Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHNNY MERCER, RICHARD WHITING, RICHARD A. WHITING
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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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