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.
The Peanut Vendor
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Wakes up with this serenade
Peanuts! Theyre nice and hot
Peanuts! I sell alot
If you havent got bananas, dont be blue
Peanuts in a little bag are calling you
Dont waste them, no tummy ache
Youll taste them when you awake
The peanut vendors on his way
At dawning that whistle blows
Through evry city, town, and country lane
Youll hear him sing his plaintive little strain
And as he goes by to you hell say:
Big jumbos, big double ones
Come buy those peanuts roasted today
Come try those freshly roasted today!BR Peanuts! I sell alot,
BRPeanuts! Well meet again
BRPeanuts! This street again
BRPeanuts! Youll eat again
BRYour peanut man.?
***********************
En Cuba, cada alegre camarera
Despierta con esta serenata
Cacahuete! Que lindo y caliente
Cacahuete! Vendo un lote
Si ustedes se plátanos, dont ser azul
Cacahuete en una pequeña bolsa que usted está llamando
¿No les residuos, no barriga dolor
Youll gusto cuando usted despierta
Para romper en el mismo día de
Los vendedores de maní en su camino
Al amanecer silbato que sopla
A través de evry ciudad, pueblo, país y carril
Youll oírlo cantar su quejoso poco cepa
Y como le va a usted infierno por decir:
Big jumbos, los grandes doble
Ven comprar los cacahuetes tostados hoy
Ven juzgar a los recién tostado hoy! BR Peanuts! Vendo un lote,
BRPeanuts! Así reunirse de nuevo
BRPeanuts! Esta calle de nuevo
BRPeanuts! Youll comer de nuevo
BRYour maní hombre.?
Louis Armstrong's song The Peanut Vendor is a joyful tribute to the peanut vendors of Cuba. The lyrics describe how the peanut vendors wake up each day with a serenade calling out, "Peanuts! They're nice and hot. Peanuts! I sell a lot." The song describes how the vendors walk through the streets with their whistles blowing, selling peanuts to people in every city, town, and country lane. The vendors call out to everyone to come and try their "big jumbos, big double ones" - freshly roasted peanuts that are sure to delight. The song ends with the peanut vendor promising to meet again and sell more peanuts to the delight of everyone who loves to eat them.
Line by Line Meaning
In Cuba, each merry maid
Every happy maid in Cuba
Wakes up with this serenade
Wakes up to this song being played
Peanuts! Theyre nice and hot
Hot, fresh peanuts for sale
Peanuts! I sell alot
I sell a lot of peanuts
If you havent got bananas, dont be blue
Don't be sad if you don't have bananas
Peanuts in a little bag are calling you
The peanuts in a small bag are calling your name
Dont waste them, no tummy ache
Don't waste them and you won't get a stomach ache
Youll taste them when you awake
You'll taste them when you wake up
For at the very break of day
At dawn
The peanut vendors on his way
The peanut vendor is on his way
At dawning that whistle blows
At dawn, the whistle blows
Through evry city, town, and country lane
Through every city, town, and country road
Youll hear him sing his plaintive little strain
You'll hear him sing his sad little song
And as he goes by to you hell say:
As he passes by, he'll say:
Big jumbos, big double ones
Large peanuts for sale
Come buy those peanuts roasted today
Come buy these freshly roasted peanuts today
Come try those freshly roasted today!
Come and try these freshly roasted peanuts today!
Peanuts! I sell alot,
I sell a lot of peanuts
Peanuts! Well meet again
We will meet again to sell peanuts
Peanuts! This street again
We will sell peanuts on this street again
Peanuts! Youll eat again
You will eat peanuts again
Your peanut man.?
Your peanut seller
Contributed by Lucy Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@djjb002
Merveilleuse performance du grand Louis ! Une fois que vous l'avez entendue, vous ne pourrez plus l'oublier !
@marvinmuonekejazz
I had no idea Louis recorded this too. It's one of those records you wish could on for a whole lot longer.
@awildedj
This era of music is played on several stations across the U.S., most notably on KUOW in Seattle, five hours every Saturday night for the last 45 years. You can find it online and listen live or play it as a streaming archive on demand.
@marcell_musica
This is an original cuban composition, called "El Manicero" or "The Peanut Vender"! I had no idea Louis recorded this! Just awesome!
@kingdelpollo1567
Even the Beatles do...in let it be sessions
@colivares30
This was just amazing, thank you for uploading such a wonderful melody
@sniperwipers
Love this . what a tune. love the way he sounds like his cornet and how the cornet sounds like him . god bless ya Louis.
@Zuluboppa
Wow! Listen to Louis scatting near end of song: such passion, warmth and Genius ! Thanks lovely Louis !
@ferventwoe8856
I first ever listened to this because of a mod for Fallout New Vegas. It added a whole new radio station with tons of new music that fits the era. This song came on as I was strolling through the Mojave desert. It was blissful. Simpler times
@kiliawta
Mother of good lord. This is what you call music.