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.
That Lucky Old Sun
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Out on the job
Work like the devil for my pay
But that lucky old sun has nothin' to do
But roll around heaven all day
Fuss with my woman, toil for my kids
Sweat 'til I'm wrinkled and gray
But roll around Heaven all day
Good Lord up above, can't you know I'm finding, tears all in my eyes
Send down that cloud with a silver lining, lift me to Paradise
Show me that river, take me across
And wash all my troubles away
Like that lucky old sun, give me nothing to do but roll around Heaven all day
(Good Lord above, can't you know I'm finding, tears all in my eyes
Send down that cloud with a silver lining, lift me to Paradise)
Show me that river, take me across
And wash all my troubles away
Like that lucky old sun, give me nothing to do but roll around (Heaven, Heaven, Heaven)
Oh roll around (Heaven, Heaven) Heaven all day
Let me roll around Heaven all day
Louis Armstrong's song "That Lucky Old Sun" is a beautiful and melancholic tune that speaks to the difficulties and frustrations of working hard every day while watching the sun seemingly "roll around heaven all day," enjoying a life of leisure and luxury that is beyond the reach of most ordinary people. The song is full of vivid imagery and metaphors that capture the sense of weariness and longing felt by those who struggle to make ends meet in the face of poverty, oppression, and social inequality.
The opening verse of the song sets the tone for the rest of the lyrics, as the singer describes his daily routine of getting up early and going to work, where he "fusses" with his woman and toils for his kids. Despite his best efforts, however, he feels overwhelmed and exhausted by the demands of his life, while the sun seems to float above him in the sky, unaffected and untouched by his struggles. The chorus of the song expresses his desire to escape his troubles and find solace in a place where he can "roll around" in heaven all day, free from the stresses and pressures of everyday life.
The bridge of the song provides a moment of hope and faith, as the singer appeals to a "good Lord up above" for help and mercy. He asks for a "cloud with a silver lining" to lift him up and carry him away to "Paradise," where he can find peace and serenity. The final chorus reiterates this desire for escape, as the singer dreams of crossing a river to a place where he can be free from all his troubles and worries. The song ends on a note of yearning and longing, as the singer pleads with the heavens to grant him the simple joy of rolling around in heaven all day.
Line by Line Meaning
Up in the mornin'
Starting the day
Out on the job
Going to work
Work like the devil for my pay
Working very hard for money
But that lucky old sun has nothin' to do
The sun doesn't have to work like humans do
But roll around heaven all day
The sun only has to move across the sky in heaven
Fuss with my woman, toil for my kids
Dealing with domestic issues and raising children
Sweat 'til I'm wrinkled and gray
Working very hard for a long time
While that lucky old sun has nothin' to do
The sun does not experience these human struggles
But roll around Heaven all day
The sun has an effortless existence
Good Lord up above, can't you know I'm finding, tears all in my eyes
Requesting divine intervention to ease his suffering
Send down that cloud with a silver lining, lift me to Paradise
Asking for relief from his troubles
Show me that river, take me across
Wishing to escape his current struggles and pain
And wash all my troubles away
Desiring relief from his hardships
Like that lucky old sun, give me nothing to do but roll around Heaven all day
Desiring a carefree existence like that of the sun
Let me roll around Heaven all day
The singer's ultimate desire for an effortless existence
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: Beasley Smith, Haven Gillespie
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mystii
He was the best trumpet player, and blues singer I've heard. May he rest in peace! 😭
HelenaVanCity
"Born poor, died rich, and never hurt anyone along the way." Don't remember who said it, but darn well said! I love you, Louis!!!!!
Josh .Mizruchi
Duke Ellington said that if I recall correctly.
Debra Taylor
I got a red persoan cat years AGO and named him Satchmo. He is now with his namesake. O how I luved my beautiful cat and Louis. Btw. I took really good care of my Satchmo. He lived til almost 19
Dave Marowitz
@Josh .Mizruchi Yes, it was Duke Ellington who said that.
jwmc41
Yes and worked hard all his life with humility and dignity.
HelenaVanCity
@jwmc41 Absolutely!
tafi mutekwe
Louis Armstrong's version of this timeless classic is up there with the very best versions performed.
tubeboob
i know it, incredible
lindsey607
No doubt about that Boss.