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.
Thanks a Million
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For everything that love could bring you brought me
Each tender love-word you happened to say
Is hidden away
In memory's bouquet
Thanks a million for I remember too
The tenderness that your caresses taught me
You made a million dreams come true and so I'm saying
Thanks a million, a million thanks to you
For every thing that love could bring you brought me
Each tender love-word you happened to say
Is hidden away
In memory's bouquet
Thanks a million for I remember too
The tenderness that your caresses taught me
You made a million dreams come true and so I'm saying
Thanks a million to you
Louis Armstrong’s song “Thanks a Million” is a heartfelt expression of gratitude towards a loved one who has brought happiness and love into the singer’s life. The repeated phrase “thanks a million” symbolizes the tremendous amount of appreciation and gratitude that the singer feels towards their loved one; they express that without the other person’s love, their life would not be complete. The lyrics describe how the loved one has brought tenderness and happiness into the singer’s life through their words and touch, and how the memories of these moments continue to bring joy long after they have passed.
The phrase “memory's bouquet” in the lyrics creates a beautiful image of the many memories that the singer and their loved one have shared together, which are contrasted with a bouquet of flowers. These memories are not fleeting, but rather are preserved like blossoms in a vase, as a constant reminder of the love that existed between the two. The repeated verses in the song reflect the depth of gratitude and happiness for the love that the singer has received, which are beyond words.
In summary, “Thanks a Million” is a beautiful expression of gratitude and love towards a special person who has touched the singer’s life in immeasurable ways. The song reflects the depth of human emotion, and how gratitude for love can be a source of joy and contentment in all aspects of life.
Line by Line Meaning
Thanks a million, a million thanks to you
Expressing an immense gratitude towards someone for doing something that cannot be quantified
For everything that love could bring you brought me
Acknowledging that love can bring a lot of good things, and thanking the person for bringing them all to the singer
Each tender love-word you happened to say
Giving credit to the person for making the singer feel loved with every kind word spoke
Is hidden away
Memories of those loving words are safely stored and treasured in the singer's mind
In memory's bouquet
Those memories are like a bouquet of beautiful flowers to the singer - a reminder of love and appreciation
Thanks a million for I remember too
Not only thanking the person but also acknowledging the singer's memory that holds the beautiful moments of love
The tenderness that your caresses taught me
The person's touch has been tender and loving; thanking them for teaching the singer the lessons of tenderness
You made a million dreams come true and so I'm saying
The person has helped the singer achieve all their dreams; thanking them from the bottom of their heart
Thanks a million to you
Reiterating the immense gratitude felt for the person who has made a positive impact on the singer's life
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ARTHUR JOHNSTON, GUS KAHN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Paul Brewer
To me, Pops is still indisputably the greatest jazz musician of all time.
Luis Dominguez
2021 and here I am going through memories ❤
Thomas .Hennessey
From the 4th of 4 sessions in the Fall of 1935 as Louis returns to the US recording. Luis Russell provides the piano work.
fillra01
Superb music! Thankyou. Pops is Tops! Louis Armstrong And His Orchestra, December 19, 1935, New York, NY Thanks A Million (Johnston, Arthur; Kahn, Gus) [master 60249-A] -- Decca 666 Thanks A Million (Johnston, Arthur; Kahn, Gus) [master 60249-B] -- Decca 666
micha sch
I love Benny, Ziggy, Gene and Harry...but without any doubt it is Satchmo, that made Jazz what it is: a great culturell power and a real kind of art! Without him no BG, ZE, GK, HJ!
Clarke Laidlaw
Thanks Satch.
dtenner
Armstrong is so magnificent here that I gave it a "like" vote--but let's face it, there is an awful anticlimax at 0:45 where his wonderful solo gives way to the out-of-tune band...
Ian Date
don't worry about that. Just dig Louis' gold !