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.
Period Street Blues
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
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Down that Mississippi?
We'll take a boat to the land of dreams
Come along with me on down to New Orleans
Now the band's there to greet us
Old friends will meet us
Where all them folks goin' to the St. Louis cemetery meet
I'm tellin' ya Basin Street is the street
Where all them characters from the first street they meet
New Orleans, land of dreams
You'll never miss them rice and beans
Way down south in New Orleans
They'll be huggin' and a kissin'
That's what I been missin'
And all that music, Lord, if you just listen'
New Orleans, I got them Basin Street blues
Now ain't you glad you went with me
On down that Mississippi?
We took a boat to the land of dreams
Heaven on earth, they call it Basin Street
The opening lyrics of Basin Street Blues invites the listener to join the singer on a voyage down the Mississippi river to the magical land of dreams called New Orleans. The song is an ode to the city's passionate musical culture, rich gastronomy, and romantic ambiance. The lyrics describe how familiar faces and bands await visitors on Basin Street, where people gather to enjoy themselves, socialize, and pay their respects to departed loved ones at the St. Louis cemetery. The song celebrates the warmth, affection, and emotional openness of the city and its people while conveying a bittersweet nostalgia for the departed good times.
Line by Line Meaning
Won't you come and go with me
Will you join me?
Down that Mississippi?
We'll follow the Mississippi River.
We'll take a boat to the land of dreams
Our mode of transportation to New Orleans.
Come along with me on down to New Orleans
Join me on this trip to New Orleans.
Now the band's there to greet us
The band is ready to welcome us to New Orleans.
Old friends will meet us
We will reconnect with familiar faces.
Where all them folks goin' to the St. Louis cemetery meet
The location where mourners gather to pay their respects.
Heaven on earth, they call it Basin Street
Basin Street is a heavenly place.
I'm tellin' ya Basin Street is the street
I am confirming that Basin Street is the one.
Where all them characters from the first street they meet
It's where a diverse group of people converge.
New Orleans, land of dreams
New Orleans is a city full of possibilities.
You'll never miss them rice and beans
Food has no importance in this city.
Way down south in New Orleans
The city is located in the southern part of the United States.
They'll be huggin' and a kissin'
People will embrace each other warmly.
That's what I been missin'
That is what I long for the most.
And all that music, Lord, if you just listen'
New Orleans is filled with beautiful music if you listen carefully.
New Orleans, I got them Basin Street blues
The experience of New Orleans has left a lasting impression on me.
Now ain't you glad you went with me
Are you happy that you came with me?
On down that Mississippi?
Through the journey of the Mississippi River.
Heaven on earth, they call it Basin Street
Basin Street is considered a paradise on earth.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: GREG GIAMPA, MICHAEL NEHRA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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