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.
Pennies From Heaven
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't you know each cloud contains pennies from heaven?
You'll find your fortune's fallin' all over the town
Be sure that your umbrella is upside down
Trade them for a package of sunshine and flowers
If you want the things you love, you must have showers
So, when you hear it thunder, don't run under a tree
Every time, every time it rains, it's gonna rain pennies from heaven
Don't you know every cloud contains lots of pennies from heaven
You'll find your fortune's fallin', baby, all over the town
Be sure, be sure that your umbrella is upside down
Trade them for a package of sunshine and flowers
If you want the things you love, you've got to have showers
So, when you hear it thunder, don't run under a tree
There'll be pennies from heaven for you and me
The song "Pennies From Heaven" by Louis Armstrong is a whimsical and optimistic tune about finding fortune even in the midst of a downpour. The lyrics suggest that every time it rains, it's as if pennies are falling from the sky, with each cloud containing the potential for good fortune. The song encourages the listener to be open to opportunity, suggesting that they will find their "fortune falling all over the town" if they are prepared to receive it, with their "umbrella upside down".
The song goes on to suggest that the listener can trade in their pennies for a "package of sunshine and flowers", or the things they love. The lyrics equate rain and thunder with the potential for good things to come, urging the listener not to run under a tree when the thunder rolls, as there will be pennies from heaven for them and everyone else.
Overall, the song is a lighthearted reminder to be open to possibility and to look for the silver lining in even the darkest of clouds. It encourages the listener to embrace the rain and to believe that good things can come from it.
Line by Line Meaning
Every time it rains, it rains pennies from heaven
When it rains, good things happen unexpectedly
Don't you know each cloud contains pennies from heaven?
There is a silver lining in every cloud
You'll find your fortune's fallin' all over the town
Opportunities are everywhere if you look for them
Be sure that your umbrella is upside down
Be open to receiving unexpected blessings
Trade them for a package of sunshine and flowers
Exchange the good things for more good things
If you want the things you love, you must have showers
You have to go through difficult times to get to the good times
So, when you hear it thunder, don't run under a tree
Don't avoid challenges, face them head on
There'll be pennies from heaven for you and me
Good things will come to those who are open to receiving them
Every time, every time it rains, it's gonna rain pennies from heaven
Expect good things to come, even in difficult times
Don't you know every cloud contains lots of pennies from heaven
There is always hope and positivity to be found, even in dark times
You'll find your fortune's fallin', baby, all over the town
Luck is not limited to one person or place, but can be found all around us
Be sure, be sure that your umbrella is upside down
Be ready and open to receive unexpected blessings
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Arthur Johnston, Johnny Burke
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Susan Chambers
The beauty has disappeared but you can still find it♡
Sheena Brooks
What a Treasure🙌❤️
Reepacheirp firewalker
How do I love thee Louis what an amazing talent. How wondrous your many gifts so precious for us now as well as those who will come later in this world.
Baruch Ha-Shem.
Wendy Williams
Awesome
Margaret DoorenBos
Wow awesome <3
Vebjørn Mamen
So dope this right here
Sondre Reinhoff
What do you mean?
Kathy Ashby
@Sondre Reinhoff the new version - when saying something is: awesome, cool, amazing, incredible, etc......
Reepacheirp firewalker
This is a master just like Cab Calloway they changed music and their approach to music beyond the pale.
Evonne L
💗🥰