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.
Marie
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Marie, the dawn is breaking
Marie, (oh, Marie) you'll soon be waking
To find you heart is aching
And tears (and tears) will fall (will fall) as you recall
The moon in all its splendor
A kiss (oh, a kiss) so very tender
The words, "Will you surrender
Marie, you'll soon be waking
To find you heart is aching
And tears (and tears) will fall (will fall) as you recall
The moon in all its splendor
A kiss (oh, a kiss) so very tender
The words, "Will you surrender
To me, (Marie), Marie (Marie), Marie (Marie)?"
Louis Armstrong's "Marie" is a sentimental song of unrequited love that speaks to the heartbroken. The song begins with an evocative verse about dawn's early light breaking, and how the woman of the song, Marie, will soon be waking. The lyrics then shift to the memory of a romantic moment shared between the singer and Marie, a moment that now comes to haunt them both as Marie wakes up to the pain of an unfulfilled love.
As the singer remembers, Marie will soon find her heart aching, and tears will fall down her face like dew on the grass. The memory that brings her to this pain is a kiss, a tender and unforgettable moment shared by the singer and Marie under the moon's splendor. But in the end, the lyrics reveal the harsh reality that their love was never meant to be, and the singer implores Marie to surrender to the truth and move on.
Overall, this song is a bittersweet reminder that love can be fleeting and that some memories will always linger on, even when they are best forgotten.
Line by Line Meaning
Marie, Marie, Marie
Louis Armstrong is calling out the name 'Marie' multiple times to get her attention.
Marie, the dawn is breaking
The sun is starting to rise, indicating that it's morning.
Marie, (oh, Marie) you'll soon be waking
Louis is acknowledging that Marie will be waking up soon.
To find you heart is aching
Marie will wake up feeling sad.
And tears (and tears) will fall (will fall) as you recall
She will cry as she remembers something.
The moon in all its splendor
The beautiful moon is being mentioned.
A kiss (oh, a kiss) so very tender
Marie might remember a sweet, gentle kiss.
The words, "Will you surrender
The lyrics suggest that someone might have asked Marie to give up something.
To me, (Marie), Marie (Marie)?"
The person who asked Marie to surrender might have been Louis himself.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Irving Berlin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@elis6299
One of the things I enjoy the most about living now is the access to great artists from before my time. Absolutely adore Louis & the Mills Bros.
Thanks for posting.
@jimthompson606
Oh, this was a double joy - - Louis plus the Mills Bros.
@paulphelps7809
These performers are absolutely THE BEST. No doubt of it.
@bennyjazzful
WOW. What a wonderful sound by Louis & The Mills Brothers. Amazing sounds & so,so good.
@lisbetsoda4874
Love them all. Perfection !
@lalubitsch
The moon on a night like this.... The moon splendid!!!
@Django44
Absolutely first-rate. My goodness this swings!
@davidamaral1519
Amazing
@MBM1117727
Thanks for this great upload! Keep posting these great songs. One of my favourite songs from my one of my favourite channels! Keep posting these old classics! Thanks again.
@lalubitsch
This is one of my favorites