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.
Ol' Man Mose
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He lived in log hut and they called him Old Man Mose, yeah
Early one mornin' I knocked at his door
Didn't hear a single sound; I ain't gonna do it no more
'Cause I believe Old Man, I believe Old Man
I believe Old Man, that Old Man Mose is dead
I'm tellin' you, I believe Old Man, I believe Old Man
Now, we believe Mose kicked the bucket
We believe Mose kicked the bucket
We believe Mose kicked the bucket
We believe he's dead; oh, we believe
We believe Mose kicked the bucket
We believe Mose kicked the bucket
We believe Mose kicked the bucket
We believe he's dead; I'm lookin' here
I went around to the side and I peeped through the crack
I saw an old man layin' flat on his back, yeah
If Old Man Mose was dead asleep, I did not know
But after lookin' through that window, I ain't gonna do that no more
'Cause I found out Old Man, I found out Old Man
I found out Old Man, that Old Man Mose is dead
I'm tellin' you I found out Old Man, what it's all about, Old Man
I found out Old Man, that Old Man Mose is dead
Now, we found out Mose kicked the bucket
We found out Mose kicked the bucket
We found out Mose kicked the bucket
We found out he's dead, oh
We found out Mose kicked the bucket
We found out Mose kicked the bucket
We found out Mose kicked the bucket
We found out he's dead
Old Man Mose is dead
Louis Armstrong's song "Ol' Man Mose" tells the story of a man with a crooked nose who lived in a log hut and was known as Old Man Mose. The singer of the song goes to Old Man Mose's house early in the morning but doesn't hear any sound. The singer then begins to believe that Old Man Mose is dead. The belief is reinforced when the singer looks through a crack in the window and sees an old man lying flat on his back. The singer concludes that Old Man Mose is indeed dead.
The repetition of the lyrics "We believe Mose kicked the bucket" emphasizes the singer's belief that Old Man Mose is dead. The song speaks to the inevitability of death and how we all have to come to terms with it eventually. The singer's curiosity turns into a realization that Old Man Mose has passed on. The song has a melancholic tone that highlights the sorrow of losing someone we know.
The song was a part of Armstrong's extensive repertoire, and he performed it frequently. The tune was written by Louis Alter, with the lyrics penned by Sidney Clare. The song was recorded by Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra in 1939.
Line by Line Meaning
Now once there lived an old man with a very crooked nose
There was an old man who lived with a crooked nose
He lived in log hut and they called him Old Man Mose, yeah
He lived in a log hut and was known as Old Man Mose
Early one mornin' I knocked at his door
I knocked on his door one morning
Didn't hear a single sound; I ain't gonna do it no more
I didn't hear a response so I won't try again
'Cause I believe Old Man, I believe Old Man
I believe that Old Man is dead
I believe Old Man, that Old Man Mose is dead
I believe that Old Man Mose is dead
Now, we believe Mose kicked the bucket
We believe that Mose died
I went around to the side and I peeped through the crack
I went around to the side and looked through a crack
I saw an old man layin' flat on his back, yeah
I saw an old man laying on his back
If Old Man Mose was dead asleep, I did not know
I'm not sure if Old Man Mose is asleep or dead
But after lookin' through that window, I ain't gonna do that no more
After looking through the window, I won't do it again
I found out Old Man, I found out Old Man
I found out that Old Man is dead
I found out Old Man, that Old Man Mose is dead
I found out that Old Man Mose is dead
We found out Mose kicked the bucket
We found out that Mose died
We found out he's dead, oh
We found out that he is dead
Old Man Mose is dead
Old Man Mose is dead
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LOUIS ARMSTRONG, ZILNER T. RANDOLPH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Wolfhoundersful
Now once there lived an old man with a very crooked nose
He lived in log hut and they called him old man Mose, yeah
Early one mornin' I knocked at his door
Didn't hear a single sound, I ain't gonna do it no more
'Cause I believe old man, I believe old man
I believe old man, that old man Mose is dead
I'm tellin' you, I believe old man, I believe old man
I do believe old man, that old man Mose is dead
Now, we believe Mose kicked the bucket
We believe Mose kicked the bucket [2x]
We believe he's dead, oh we believe
We believe Mose kicked the bucket [3x]
We believe he's dead, I'm lookin' here
I went around to the side and I peeped through the crack
I saw an old man layin' flat on his back, yeah
If old man Mose was dead asleep, I did not know
But after lookin' through that window, I ain't gonna do that no more
'Cause I found out old man, I found out old man
I found out old man, that old man Mose is dead
I'm tellin' you, I found out old man, what it's all about, old man
I found out old man, that old man Mose is dead
Now, we believe Mose kicked the bucket
We believe Mose kicked the bucket [2x]
We believe he's dead, oh we believe
We believe Mose kicked the bucket [3x]
We believe he's dead
Old man Mose is dead
@claudivannonato5958
Louis Armstrong, foi incomparável não resta a menor dúvida. Mas... eu ainda estou naquela de descobrir as músicas originais das quais saíram grandes versões como as gravadas pelo grande Roberto Carlos. Informações recentes me trouxeram para este canal. E por isso, eu estou aqui. Nunca ouvi esta música, e estou satisfeito de tê-la descoberto. Não preciso dizer que prefiro a versão gravada pelo nosso REI; porém eu tiro também o meu chapéu para o Jazz. Salve Louis Armstrong.
@DmichielO
This is the best version I have heard. This song was perfect for Mr. Armstrong and he did a supurb job of delivering the goods (as usual) He was one of the 20th. Century's greatest entertainers. The respect this man garnered around the world was wonderful and well deserved. I lovd him so much.
@carmensimpson6060
¡Qué bien se oye! ¡Gracias!
@TheBakedBean
can't get enough of that opening
@avaschannel5948
I love it!
@FernandoAlva96
Esto es increíble
@sebastiaoverissimodasilva9852
O Rei Roberto Carlos Braga,Gravou a Versão ! Historia de um Homem Mau,Ano de 1966 . É Sucesso Sempre .
@rbragarj130
1965 ( Lp Canta para juventude)
@rbragarj130
Na verdade nem parece uma versão(eu sei que é uma versão porque no disco descrimina a musica em inglês)
@sebastiaoverissimodasilva9852
@José Orlando O Sucesso José Orlando ,.