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.
Lullabye In Ragtime
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To a lullaby in ragtime
Sleepy hands are creeping to the end of the clock
Play a lullaby in ragtime
You can tell the sandman is on his way
By the way
That they play
As still, as the trill, of a thrush, in a twilight high
So you can hear the
Rhythm of the ripples on the side of the boat
As you sail away to dreamland
High above the moon you hear a silvery note
As the sandman takes your hand
So rock-a-by my baby
Don't you cry my baby
Sleepy-time is nigh
Won't you rock me to a ragtime lullaby
So rock-a-by my baby
Don't you cry my baby
Sleepy-time is nigh
Won't you rock me to a ragtime lullaby
The lyrics to Louis Armstrong and Danny Kaye's song "Lullabye in Ragtime" paint a soothing and enchanting picture of a lullaby being played to help soothe a baby to sleep. The song begins with a request for the cradle to be rocked with music, specifically a lullaby in ragtime. The hands of sleep are approaching the end of the clock, indicating that it's time for the baby to sleep.
The lyrics describe the calm and peaceful atmosphere that the lullaby creates, comparing it to the soft trill of a thrush singing in the twilight. The reference to the sandman suggests that the baby is drifting off to sleep, and the rhythm of the ripples on the side of a boat can be heard, symbolizing the gentle motion and tranquility of sailing away to dreamland.
The moon's silvery notes add a magical and ethereal touch to the scene as the sandman takes the baby's hand. The repeated plea to rock the baby to a ragtime lullaby implies that the combination of the familiar and comforting rhythm of ragtime music will provide a sense of security and ease for the baby.
Overall, the lyrics of "Lullabye in Ragtime" evoke a serene and dreamlike atmosphere, conveying a message of comfort and calmness as the baby is lulled to sleep.
Line by Line Meaning
Won't you play the music so the cradle can rock
Please play some music to soothe the baby and make the cradle gently sway
To a lullaby in ragtime
To a soothing song with a lively ragtime rhythm
Sleepy hands are creeping to the end of the clock
Tired hands are slowly reaching towards the end of the clock
Play a lullaby in ragtime
Perform a peaceful song with a bouncy ragtime melody
You can tell the sandman is on his way
You can sense that the sandman is approaching
By the way
Based on
That they play
The way they play the music
As still, as the trill, of a thrush, in a twilight high
As calm as the beautiful sound of a bird's melody during the serene evening time
So you can hear the
So you can listen to
Rhythm of the ripples on the side of the boat
The beat created by the gentle waves hitting the boat
As you sail away to dreamland
While you drift off to sleep in a state of blissful imagination
High above the moon you hear a silvery note
From way up in the sky, you hear a lovely, high-pitched sound
As the sandman takes your hand
When the sandman gently holds your hand
So rock-a-by my baby
Therefore, sway and comfort my little baby
Don't you cry my baby
Please don't shed tears, my little one
Sleepy-time is nigh
Bedtime is approaching
Won't you rock me to a ragtime lullaby
Could you please lull me to sleep with a soothing ragtime song
So rock-a-by my baby
Therefore, sway and comfort my little baby
Don't you cry my baby
Please don't shed tears, my little one
Sleepy-time is nigh
Bedtime is approaching
Won't you rock me to a ragtime lullaby
Could you please lull me to sleep with a soothing ragtime song
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SYLVIA FINE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lindajack7969
My Dad took me to see the Five Pennies when I was 11 yrs old. I loved it and bought the album and I’m still playing it at 71. Thank you Dad for introducing me to jazz and to Danny Kaye, a great person and actor!🎶 🎼 🥇
@MM-yi9zn
There will never be another Danny Kaye! A true Renaissance man!
@terrimyers3337
One of my favorite movies and this song is wonderful. Danny and Barbara sound lovely together.
@eamontrainor5990
Danny Kaye was one of the greatest entertainers ever.He could sing dance and he was very funny.RIP
@djjasperfox2194
This is my fav movie! So glad my mum showed me it. Movie aren't made like this anymore. So pure and funny and such a great soundtrack.
@keithdempsey721
they don,t make classics like this anymore.just beautiful.
@johngaspar4425
I got my whole family hooked on tis movie.
@AngelChavezTenor
One of the most beautiful voices EVER!!! It has a velvet quality that very few singers are born with! And also the arrangement, the tonality of the song, the instrumentation and Barbara Bel.... IT'S JUST PERFECT!
@Avery_4272
Thanks for posting this wonderful song/scene. Danny Kaye was such an incredibly gifted performer (and a chef and an airplane pilot, too!). For those who don't already know, the song was written by Kaye's wife, the very talented Sylvia Fine. Eileen Wilson dubbed the singing beautifully for the great Barbara Bel Geddes.
@funniq
Danny Kaye moves me ... every time I hear this song with his sweet voice I get emotional ...