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.
Squeeze Me
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Want you to know it really is pleasin'
Want you to know I ain't for no teasin'
Treat me sweet and gentle when you say goodnight
Just squeeze me but please don't tease me
I get sentimental when you hold me tight
Just squeeze me but please don't tease me
Singing the blues away each day
Counting the rights and waiting for you
I'm in the mood to let you know
I never knew I loved you so
Please say you love me too
When I get this feelin' I'm in ecstasy
So squeeze me but please don't tease me
Treat me sweet and gentle when you say goodnight
Just squeeze me but please don't tease me
I get sentimental when you hold me tight
Just squeeze me but please don't tease me
Missing you since you went away
Singing the blues away each day
Counting the rights and waiting for you
I'm in the mood to let you know
I never knew I loved you so
Please say you love me too
When I get this feelin' I'm in ecstasy
So squeeze me but please don't tease me
Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington's song, "Just Squeeze Me," is a love song that expresses the singer's desire to be held by their lover. The lyrics convey a deep sense of longing and a plea for the lover to treat the singer with tenderness and sincerity. The first few lines, "Want you to know I go for your squeezin'/ Want you to know it really is pleasin'/ Want you to know I ain't for no teasin'" sets the tone for the song, with the singer declaring their love for their partner's embrace and their desire for sincerity in their relationship.
The second verse conveys the singer's sorrow in being separated from their lover and how they admit to feeling sentimental when they are close, wishing for a more permanent relationship. The phrase "Counting the rights and waiting for you" suggests that the singer is keeping count of all the times they have been hurt in the past and are now waiting for a commitment to a better future. The chorus provides the central message of the song as the singer urges their partner to hold them close without teasing them. It is then followed by an ultimatum that conveys how the singer feels when they are in their lover's embrace, "When I get this feelin' I'm in ecstasy/ So squeeze me but please don't tease me."
In conclusion, "Just Squeeze Me" is a romantic song that speaks directly to the heart of anyone who has ever desired unconditional love. It is a song about longing, hopefulness, and passionate desire, with lyrics that encourage tenderness and sincerity in a loving relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Want you to know I go for your squeezin'
I want you to know that I enjoy your embrace
Want you to know it really is pleasin'
I want you to know that your embrace brings me joy
Want you to know I ain't for no teasin'
I want you to know that I am sincere and not playing around
Treat me sweet and gentle when you say goodnight
Please be kind and loving when you bid me goodnight
Just squeeze me but please don't tease me
Hold me close, but don't make empty promises
I get sentimental when you hold me tight
I become emotional when you embrace me tightly
Missing you since you went away
I am longing for you since you departed
Singing the blues away each day
I am sad without you, but music helps me cope
Counting the rights and waiting for you
Despite our challenges, I am hopeful and waiting for you
I'm in the mood to let you know
I feel like expressing my feelings to you
I never knew I loved you so
I did not realize the depth of my love for you until now
Please say you love me too
Please tell me that you love me as well
When I get this feelin' I'm in ecstasy
When I am with you, I feel extremely happy
So squeeze me but please don't tease me
Hold me close, but please do not lead me on
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Duke Ellington
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@emiliolopezify
What a great performance. I love this tune so much.
@peterwaddington4253
GREAT STUFF....
@fillra
Thanks, Geminazzo! Dreamy stuff. Pops is Tops! Louis Armstrong and The All Stars May 3, 1955, New York, NY Louis Armstrong (Trumpet) Trummy Young (Trombone) Barney Bigard (Clarinet) Billy Kyle (Piano) Arvell Shaw (Bass) Barrett Deems (Drums) Middleton, Velma (Vocal) *Louis first recorded this tune with his Hot Five (plus one!) on June 29, 1928, Chicago, IL The "dippermouth blog" is excellent for more Louis, also "redhotjazz", also "michaelminn armstrong".
@einar123olsson
Marie Ralph 01s einar123.olsson@gmail.com
@emiliolopezify
Thank you for the names of the artist. 🙂 👍
@cwcwful
If you have not all ready read the book Pops about Louis Armstrong, by Terry Teachout. It's Excellent. I just finish reading it recently. The book came put in 2009.
@TheFlyfly
daddy...