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.
Who Walks in When i Walk Out
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Who gives you that "hi baby"
Who's it, who, got me jealous of you.
Who walks in when I walk out?
Now don't you know you're my baby,
Who's it, who, got me worrying too?
Well, when we kiss, I kinda miss
Something that used to be.
That you're fooling me.
Who walks in when I walk out?
Who gives you that "hi baby"
Who's it, who, got me jealous of you?
The song "I Wonder Who" by Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra is a classic jazz tune from the 1930s. The lyrics tell the story of a jealous lover who suspects his partner of seeing someone else. The lines "who walks in when I walk out" and "who gives you that 'hi baby'" suggest that the singer is watching his partner's every move and is convinced that someone else is in the picture. He's worried that he's being replaced and that he's no longer the one making her heart skip a beat.
The lyrics are full of emotion and are delivered brilliantly by Armstrong's soulful voice. His phrasing and timing are impeccable, and he adds just the right amount of grit to make the song come alive. The use of call-and-response between the band and the singer adds to the energy and urgency of the song, making the listener feel just as jealous and worried as the singer.
Overall, "I Wonder Who" is a powerful song that captures the essence of jazz in its rawest form. It's a testament to the skill and talent of Louis Armstrong and his orchestra, and it remains a favorite among jazz aficionados to this day.
Line by Line Meaning
Who walks in when I walk out?
I am curious to know who comes to see you immediately after I leave.
Who gives you that "hi baby"
I am feeling envious of the person who greets you with affectionate words like "hi baby."
Who's it, who, got me jealous of you.
I cannot help my feeling of jealousy for whoever it is that has your attention and affection.
Who walks in when I walk out?
I wonder who comes to see you right after I leave.
Now don't you know you're my baby,
You should be aware that I consider you to be my loved one.
Who's it, who, got me worrying too?
I am also feeling anxious and concerned about whoever it is that is making me jealous of you.
Well, when we kiss, I kinda miss
During our intimate moments, I sense that something is missing or not quite the same.
Something that used to be.
I feel like there was something that we had in the past that we no longer share.
Everyday, while I'm away, I get a feeling
Each day that I am not with you, I have a sense or impression.
That you're fooling me.
It seems as though you might be deceiving or betraying me in some way.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, SUNNY SKIES MUSIC COMPANY
Written by: AL GOODHART, AL HOFFMAN, RALPH FREED
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Trombonology Erstwhile
Fabulous -- one of my favorite Louis-Ella duets!
Marryann Lamb
Thanks for sharing