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.
Shadrack
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
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There was three children from the land of Israel
Shadrack, Meshach, Abednego
They took a little trip to the land of Babylon
Shadrack, Meshach, Abednego
Nebudchanezzer was the king of Babylon
Shadrack, Meshach, Abednego
He took a lot of gold, and made an idol
And he told everybody "when you hear the music of the trombone"
And he told everybody "when you hear the music of the clarinet"
And he told everybody "when you hear the music of the horn
You must fall down and worship the idol"
Shadrack, Meshach, Abednego
But the children of Israel would not bow down
Shadrack, Meshach, Abednego
Couldn't fool 'em with a golden idol
Shadrack, Meshach, Abednego
I said, you couldn't fool 'em with a golden idol
Shadrack, Meshach, Abednego
So the king put the children in the fiery furnace
Shadrack, Meshach, Abednego
Heaped on coals and red-hot brimstone
Shadrack, Meshach, Abednego
Eleven times hotter, hotter than it ought to be
Shadrack, Meshach, Abednego
Burned up the soldiers that the king had put there
Shadrack, Meshach, Abednego
But the Lord sent an angel with the snow-white wings
Down in the middle of the furnace
Talkin' to the children 'bout the power of the Gospel
Shadrack, Meshach, Abednego
Well, they couldn't burn a hair on the head of
Shadrack, Meshach, Abednego
Laughin' and talkin' while the fire jumpin' 'round
Shadrack, Meshach, Abednego
Old Nebudchanezzer called, "hey there!"
When he saw the power of the Lord
And they had a regal time in the house of Babylon
Shadrack, Meshach, Abednego
Oh, Abednego
Louis Armstrong's "Shadrack" tells the story of three children from the land of Israel, Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego. They were taken as prisoners to the land of Babylon, ruled by King Nebudchanezzer. The king built an idol made of gold and commanded everyone to worship it when they hear the music of the trombone, clarinet, and horn. But the three children refused to bow down to the idol, as it was against their belief in God. The king, angry with their disobedience, decided to throw them into a fiery furnace, which was heated eleven times hotter than it should have been. However, the Lord sent an angel to protect them from the fire, and the children emerged unharmed. The amazed king recognized the power of God and had a regal time with them in the house of Babylon.
"Shadrack" reflects the Biblical story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were three Jewish captives in Babylon during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar. They refused to worship the golden idol he had erected and were thrown into a fiery furnace but emerged unscathed as God protected them. The song has a strong message of faith and courage to stand up for one's beliefs, regardless of the consequences.
Line by Line Meaning
The story of Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego
Introduction to the tale that the song tells
There was three children from the land of Israel
Establishment of the identity of the singers in the story
They took a little trip to the land of Babylon
Narrating the journey of the singers to a foreign land
Nebudchanezzer was the king of Babylon
Introduction of the antagonist in the story
He took a lot of gold, and made an idol
Narration of the king's creation of a golden idol
And he told everybody "when you hear the music of the trombone"
The king's command for everyone to worship the idol when the trombone is played
And he told everybody "when you hear the music of the clarinet"
The king's command for everyone to worship the idol when the clarinet is played
And he told everybody "when you hear the music of the horn
The king's command for everyone to worship the idol when the horn is played
You must fall down and worship the idol"
The king's requirement for everyone to bow down to the idol
But the children of Israel would not bow down
The children's defiance against the king's command
Couldn't fool 'em with a golden idol
The children's resilience against the temptation of the idol
I said, you couldn't fool 'em with a golden idol
Reiteration of the children's loyalty to their faith
So the king put the children in the fiery furnace
The king's punishment for the children's disobedience
Heaped on coals and red-hot brimstone
Description of the intensity of the furnace's heat
Eleven times hotter, hotter than it ought to be
The extreme heat of the furnace
Burned up the soldiers that the king had put there
The danger of the furnace even to the king's soldiers
But the Lord sent an angel with the snow-white wings
Divine intervention in the form of an angel
Down in the middle of the furnace
Angel's physical location within the story
Talkin' to the children 'bout the power of the Gospel
The angel's conversation with the children on the Gospel's strength
Well, they couldn't burn a hair on the head of
The children's miraculous survival from the heat of the furnace
Laughin' and talkin' while the fire jumpin' 'round
The children's joyous attitude despite the adversity they faced
Old Nebudchanezzer called, "hey there!"
The king's reaction upon witnessing the children's miracle
When he saw the power of the Lord
The king's acknowledgement of the divine intervention
And they had a regal time in the house of Babylon
Celebration of the children's victory
Oh, Abednego
A mention of one of the children, expressing admiration or affection
Lyrics © CARL FISCHER, LLC
Written by: ROBERT MACGIMSEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Anonymous
on What A Wonderful World
What A Wonderful World - Casey Abrams - Lyrics
I see trees of green
Red roses too
I see them bloom
For me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
I see skies of blue
And clouds of white
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Singing how do you do
They're really singing
I love you
I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They'll learn much more
Than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Musical Interlude
The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Singing how do you do
They're really singing
I love you
I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They goin’ learn much more
Than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
I think to myself
What a wonderful world