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.
Tight Like This
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No it ain't tight like that either
I said it is tight like this
... tight like that there
Oh it's tight like that Louis
No it ain't tight like that either
Now it closes like that
The lyrics to Louis Armstrong's song Tight Like This are a playful and rhythmic exchange between Armstrong and an unknown interlocutor about the tightness of something that is not explicitly mentioned. The repetition of the phrase "tight like this" and "tight like that" creates a sense of musical layering that enhances the syncopated beat of the song. At the same time, the ambiguity of what exactly is meant by "tight" provides an opportunity for interpretation, allowing the listener to imagine different scenarios that could fit the lyrics.
One possible interpretation of the lyrics is that they refer to the performance of some musical or dance act that requires precision and coordination. The repeated insistence that "it is tight like this" suggests a certain level of mastery and confidence in the execution of the act, while the counter-assertion that "it ain't tight like that" could be read as a challenge or a provocation. In this sense, the lyrics can be seen as a reflection of the competitive and improvisational nature of jazz, as well as an expression of Armstrong's own virtuosity and wit.
Another possible interpretation of the lyrics is that they are a metaphor for the tightness of the African American community under segregation and oppression. The repeated use of the word "tight" could be read as a reference to the tight bonds of solidarity and resilience that black people had to develop in order to survive and resist racial violence and discrimination. In this sense, the lyrics can be seen as a celebration of black culture and creativity, as well as a critique of white supremacy and its attempts to divide and conquer black people.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh it's tight like this
This situation or arrangement is restrictive and inflexible, just like this specific way I am describing it.
No it ain't tight like that either
Contrary to popular belief, another way or option is not any more restrictive or inflexible than the current one.
I said it is tight like this
I am emphasizing that this situation or arrangement is indeed restrictive and inflexible, just like I previously described it.
... tight like that there
Similarly to the tightness I previously mentioned, this other thing or situation is also restrictive and inflexible in its own unique way.
Oh it's tight like that Louis
This is another way of expressing that a situation or arrangement is restrictive and inflexible, directed towards a person named Louis.
No it ain't tight like that either
However, similarly to before, this alternative presented is not any more restrictive or inflexible than the previous one.
Now it closes like that
This arrangement or situation has become even more restrictive and inflexible, with a sense of finality or inevitability.
Contributed by Eva M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@jackmacjack2621
One of the greatest cuts ever of all time, period.
@jeanwagner1977
https://youtu.be/zkub7h_Ye1A
@timetimesfive9251
You ain’t lyin
@megisynynef2224
The great Louis Armstrong at the absolute top of his game. Just wonderful. May his music always be remembered.
@danielchaudron8535
May be most beautiful solo Armstrong ever recorded...
Thanks
@mrjimmienoone2130
He recorded many "most beautiful" solos. 'Shine', 'Swing that music', 'Melancholy', 'Struttin' with some barbecue', 'Muggles', 'Weatherbird', 'Westend Blues', ... and many, many others are all "THE most beautiful trumpet solo".
@emilianoturazzi
I absolutely agree... there's nothing such as his best solo.... I wonder what he could do live in those years and what we miss ...
@mazamike
King of the Zulus tops my favorite list.
@davidvogel2349
certainly the most emotional; it's wrenching. I think it was recorded soon after his mother died
@ABESIT1983
It wows me everytime...