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.
Storyville Blues
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All, you old-time queens, from New Orleans, who lived in Storyville
You sang the blues, try to amuse, here′s how they pay the bill
The law step-in and call it sin to have a little fun
The police car has made a stop and Storyville is done
Pick out your steamboat, pick yourself a train
Pick out your steamboat, pick yourself a train
A slo-ow train
They made you close-up they'll never let you back
Won′t let you back
Go buy your ticket or else you walk the track
No use complaining, blue sky's folow rain
The cold-old rain
No use complaining, blue sky's folow rain
The cold-old rain
Just say farewell now and get your one last thrill
Your one last thrill
Just say farewell now, farewell to Storyville
No use complaining, blue sky′s folow rain
The cold-old rain
Just say farewell now, farewell to Storyville
Just say farewell now and get your one last thrill
Your one last thrill
Just say farewell now, farewell to Storyville
Louis Armstrong's "Storyville Blues" is a soulful elegy to a defunct neighborhood in New Orleans which was once famous for its prostitution, gambling, and music culture. In the opening verse, Louis addresses the "old-time queens" of New Orleans, who made a living singing the blues in the now-closed red-light district of Storyville. The song pays homage to their talents as well as the hard life of being a performer in such an environment. The lyrics lament the interference of the law and the intervention of the police that led to the closure of Storyville. In the end, Louis urges the ladies to "just say farewell now" and get their "one last thrill" before leaving the place they once called home.
Line by Line Meaning
All, you old-time queens, from New Orleans, who lived in Storyville
Hello to all the legendary women from New Orleans, who lived in Storyville
You sang the blues, try to amuse, here′s how they pay the bill
You sang the blues and tried to entertain, but this is how they reward you with closure
The law step-in and call it sin to have a little fun
The law intervened and considered the fun to be a sin
The police car has made a stop and Storyville is done
Storyville ended after the police intervened
Pick out your steamboat, pick yourself a train
Select your mode of transportation, be it a steamboat or a train
A slo-ow train, They made you close-up they'll never let you back
A slow train indicates that you won't be coming back since they made you shut down
Won′t let you back, Go buy your ticket or else you walk the track
You're not welcome back and should buy tickets or else you walk the track
No use complaining, blue sky's folow rain, The cold-old rain
It's no use complaining as rain follows every blue sky, the cold rain
Just say farewell now and get your one last thrill, Your one last thrill
Say goodbye and get your final moment of enjoyment
Just say farewell now, farewell to Storyville
Bid adieu to Storyville
Writer(s): James Johnson
Contributed by Logan L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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