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.
St James
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They were serving drinks as usual, and the usual crowd was there
On my left stood Big Joe McKennedy, and his eyes were bloodshot red
And he turned his face to the people, these were the very words he said
I was down to St. James infirmary, I saw my baby there
She was stretched out on a long white table,
So sweet, cool and so fair
Let her go, let her go, God bless her
Wherever she may be
She may search this whole wide world over
Never find a sweeter man as me
When I die please bury me in my high top Stetson hat
Put a twenty dollar gold piece on my watch chain
The gang'll know I died standing pat
Let her go, let her go God bless her
Wherever she may be
She may search this wide world over
Never find a sweeter man as me
I want six crapshooters to be my pallbearers
Three pretty women to sing a song
Stick a jazz band on my hearse wagon
Raise hell as I stroll along
Let her go Let her go
God bless her
Wherever she may be
She may search this whole wide
World over
She'll never find a sweeter
Man as me
The lyrics of “St. James Infirmary” tell the tale of a man who visits a hospital ward where his lover, simply referred to as “baby,” is laid out on a mortuary slab. He pleads with the attendants to “let her go,” but they refuse. The man reminisces about the finer aspects of her beauty before launching into a conversation with himself about his own death. The arrangement calls for six players as well as Armstrong’s vocals. It opens with a 20-second instrumental introduction that sets the mood for the vocal entry.
Throughout the song, there is a feeling of despair and hopelessness, with the singer accepting his fate and looking forward to death. Just as with most blues lyrics, “St. James Infirmary” is a solitary song with autobiographical undertones. It speaks of pain, death, and emotions not commonly discussed in polite society. Armstrong's voice conveys the pain suffered by the man who visits “St. James Infirmary” with sensitivity and sincerity.
Line by Line Meaning
It was down by old Joe's barroom, on the corner of the square
This story starts in the Joe's bar which is situated in a square.
They were serving drinks as usual, and the usual crowd was there
As usual, everyone was drinking and enjoying their time at the bar.
On my left stood Big Joe McKennedy, and his eyes were bloodshot red
Big Joe McKennedy, who had red and bloodshot eyes, was standing on my left.
And he turned his face to the people, these were the very words he said
Big Joe McKennedy faced the crowd and started speaking.
I was down to St. James infirmary, I saw my baby there
I went to St. James Infirmary and saw my sweetheart lying on a table.
She was stretched out on a long white table, So sweet, cool and so fair
My sweetheart was lying on a white table, looking peaceful, cool, and attractive.
Let her go, let her go, God bless her
May she rest in peace and let her be blessed.
Wherever she may be
Even though she's no longer alive.
She may search this whole wide world over, Never find a sweeter man as me
The artist claims that he was the sweetest man that his sweetheart could ever find.
When I die please bury me in my high top Stetson hat
The artist's request for his funeral attire.
Put a twenty dollar gold piece on my watch chain
Instructions for a gold piece to be placed on his watch chain.
The gang'll know I died standing pat
The artist is proud of how he lived his life and does not want any change.
I want six crapshooters to be my pallbearers
The singer wants his friends and fellow gamblers to carry his coffin.
Three pretty women to sing a song
Requests for three women to sing during his funeral.
Stick a jazz band on my hearse wagon
The singer wants a jazz band to play while he's carried in the hearse.
Raise hell as I stroll along
The artist wants everyone to make noise during his funeral procession.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOE PRIMROSE, IRVING MILLS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@andreamedina1564
I went down to St. James Infirmary
Saw my baby there
She was stretched out on a long white table
So cold, so sweet, so fair
Let her go, let her go!
God bless her wherever she may be
She can look this wide world over
But she'll never find a sweet man like me
(*Laughter* braggin')
When I die bury me in straight lace shoes
I want a box-back coat and a Stetson hat
(John B., that is)
Put a twenty dollar gold piece on my watch chain
So the boys will know that I died standin' pat
@jeffersonsteelflex1391
I went down to St.James Infirmary
Saw my baby there
She was stretched out on a long, white table
So cold, so sweet, so fair
Let her go, let her go, God bless her
Wherever she may be
She can look this wide world over
But she'll never find a sweet man like me
When I die bury me in shoes,
I want a Boxback coat and a Stetson hat
Put a twenty dollar gold piece on my watch chain
So the boys will know that I died standin' pat
@ignaciocanepa2436
Just a cooler way of being sad
@OrangeJuiceDripping
Under rated comment
@nyontozel
Wayyyyy Cooolllerrr broda!
@lilhomiecasey9906
So real
@notjoshmerkle
Well mate if we’re gonna be sad it might as well be cool too yea?
@purpleblah2
I have depression and I'm never this cool
@jeffgoldenberg4009
One of the thrills of my life was seeing him in 1961 at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ with my father, a huge fan. I was 10 and a novice on the trumpet. We went backstage and hung with him for a while; i sat on his knee as they chatted, and he led me back to the end of the room where his trumpet sat in its case. I tooted a few notes and her roared in approval, a huge smile across his face. I still have the program he signed.
@flxcreative.
incredible story
@ousarlxsfjsbvbg8588
Jeff Goldenberg what a memory that is
@ousarlxsfjsbvbg8588
Jeff Goldenberg what a memory that is