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 You're Smiling
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When you're smiling
The whole world
Smiles with you, ba, be, ba, bo
Oh, when you're laughing
Babe, when you're laughing
The sun comes shining through
But when you're crying
You bring on the rain
So stop your sighing
Be happy again
And keep on smiling
Keep on smiling
And the whole world smiles with you
Louis Armstrong's song "When You're Smiling" has become a classic and is recognized as one of his most popular Hits. The lyrics and the music have become an anthem for optimism and happiness. The song begins with the line "When you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you." The meaning is clear; when you're happy, your happiness is infectious, and it spreads to others.
Louis Armstrong's song lyrics also explain how laughter can change the environment around you. In the second verse, Armstrong explains, "When you're laughing, the sun comes shining through." This line shows that laughter can brighten even the darkest of days. The positivity that laughter brings can be powerful, making one believe that things will always get better.
The song's final verse addresses sadness and the impact it can have on one's life. The lyrics state, "But when you're crying, you bring on the rain. So, stop your sighing, be happy again, and keep on smiling." This verse is a reminder of the old adage, "smile through your struggles." It tells us that even in tough times, it's essential to keep a positive outlook and focus on what we have.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, when you're smiling
When you are happy and content
When you're smiling
When you are showing your happiness through your smile
The whole world
Everyone around you
Smiles with you, ba, be, ba, bo
Shares and spreads the positive energy of your happiness
Oh, when you're laughing
When you are genuinely amused or happy
Babe, when you're laughing
Beloved, when you are genuinely amused or happy
The sun comes shining through
Everything around you becomes bright and positive
But when you're crying
When you are sad or upset
You bring on the rain
You make everything feel gloomy and negative
So stop your sighing
So, stop feeling sorry for yourself
Be happy again
Try to find joy and positivity again
And keep on smiling
Keep showing your happiness through your smile
Keep on smiling
Continue expressing your contentment and joy through your smile
And the whole world smiles with you
And everyone around you shares and spreads the positive energy of your happiness
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Joe Goodwin, Larry Shay, Mark Fisher
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@yvesleroux9290
Oh, when you're smiling
When you're smiling
The whole world
Smiles with you, ba, be, ba, bo
Oh, when you're laughing
Babe, when you're laughing
The sun comes shining through
But when you're crying
You bring on the rain
So stop your sighing
Be happy again
And keep on smiling
Keep on smiling
And the whole world smiles with you...
@Fernandez.Alexis
When you're smilin'....keep on smilin'
The whole world smiles with you
And when you're laughin'....keep on laughin'
The sun comes shinin' through
But when you're cryin'.... you bring on the rain
So stop your frownin'....be happy again
Cause when you're smilin'....keep on smilin'
The whole world smiles with you
Oh when you're smilin'....keep on smilin'
The whole world smiles with you
Ah when you're laughin'....keep on laughin'
The sun comes shinin' through
Now when you're cryin'.... you bring on the rain
So stop that sighin'....be happy again
Cause when you're smilin'....just keep on smilin'
And the whole world gonna smile with
The great big world will smile with
The whole wide world will smile with you
@dennyalvarado3279
Proven fact: this song is even better when it’s late at night, and raining outside.
@hamzasami8362
Good living in raincouver then.. its 12:24 am and its pouring tonight xD
@floox1601
Or in the shower in germany
@swalton1932
Denny Alvarado or when it’s snowing outside.
@lukehall8151
who said the dark and the rain were bad?
@airisse9497
thanks for the tip
@alejandraalvarado8534
Am I the only one that imagine with someone dancing this at night with a beautiful sky?
@drnarwhal2888
Nope, I'm on the same page.
@obito7969
Count me as well.
@riejurv50
Same here... Maybe some day