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.
When The Red Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobbin
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There'll be no more sobbin' when he starts throbbin' his old sweet song
Wake up, wake up, you sleepy head
Get up, get out of your bed
Cheer up, cheer up, the sun is red
Live, love, laugh, and be happy
Rain may glisten, but still I listen for hours and hours
I'm just a kid again, doing what I did again, singing a song
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin'
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along
There'll be no more sobbin' when he starts throbbin'
There'll be no more sobbin' when he starts a throbbin' his old sweet song
Wake up, wake up, you sleepy head
Why don't you get up, get up, get out of bed? Cheer up
Live, love, laugh, and be happy
What if I were blue, now I'm walking through fields of flowers
Rain may glisten, but still I listen for hours and hours
I'm just a kid again, doing what I did again, singing a song
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin'
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along
Along, along, along, along, along
Louis Armstrong’s song “When The Red Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobbin” is a cheerful and optimistic tune about joy, hope, and happiness. The song starts with the arrival of a red robin, which is singing sweet melodies that make the world a more charming place. The singer is urging the listener to wake up and start their day with a happy and positive spirit. They encourage the listener to enjoy all the small details and moments in life that make them happy. They suggest that even when life might seem gray and blue, one can still find joy walking through fields of flowers and listening to the rain. The message of the song is to enjoy the simple things in life, be playful, and hopeful, despite any difficulties one might face.
The lyrics are simple, but their message is uplifting, optimistic, and incredibly joyful. Armstrong’s voice pairs perfectly with the tune’s fast-paced tempo, evoking the feeling of a happy-go-lucky nature. The song is encouraging us to look on the bright side of things and to embrace each day with a sense of joy, regardless of the hardships we may face. The tune has an infectious beat that invites us to sing and dance along and reminds us that sometimes the best thing we can do is be playful, carefree, and jovial like we were children once again.
Line by Line Meaning
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along, along
There's joy in the air when the red robin sings and bobs along
There'll be no more sobbin' when he starts throbbin' his old sweet song
The robin's song lifts the mood and brings happiness
Wake up, wake up, you sleepy head
Time to wake up from your slumber
Get up, get out of your bed
Get out of bed and start enjoying the day
Cheer up, cheer up; the sun is red
Be happy, the sun is shining and it's a new day
Live, love, laugh, and be happy
Embrace life with its ups and downs, love and laugh, and find happiness
What if I were blue; now I'm walking through, walking through the fields of flowers
Even if I was sad before, I'm now enjoying the beauty of nature
Rain may glisten, but still I listen for hours and hours
The rain is beautiful and I can enjoy listening to it for hours
I'm just a kid again, doing what I did again, singing a song
The happiness of the moment makes me feel like a kid again, singing and enjoying life
Along, along, along, along, along
The happy feeling lingers on and on
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Harry Woods
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Michele49
Many great, iconic performances of this fine song have been recorded. In my opinion, this is the best. We sang it, with jumbled lyrics, when I was a child. I have heard it said that contemporary songs are violent because the times are violent. That may sound smart and to the point, but no, we need songs that cheer, inspire the energy to work, work hard and stick with it. Consider the songs of wartime, financial crashes… is it right to deflate the courage of those who though wounded, hold to the ideals that protect the human spirit?
@bwilliams463
I remember back in the 80s, the Missouri tourism board used this song in an ad, and people liked it so much they were calling their TV stations asking them to play the commercial more often.
@StevenCarinci
Perfectly understandable.
@elizabethselby9408
Gorgeous
@gracehampton9378
This is the coolest rendition of this song.
@heartbrokenroblox6948
I’m gonna sing this song in my school
@barbararussum7283
love it!
@StevenCarinci
Heaven. PURE!
@jacquelinehoward1734
This is soooooooooooooooooooooo good!
@JiveDadson
I just love how he moves the tune to a different mode leading into the first solos. 0:50