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.
Would You Life To Take A Walk
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Am I nosy? Very, very
I'd like to be a juicy huckleberry
What you're after is a gal
We're both in luck, for introductions
Are not necessary
Mmm, would you like to take walk?
Mmm, how about a sarsaparilla?
Gee, the moon is yeller
Sump'n good'll come from that
Mmm, have you heard the latest song?
Mmm, it's a very pretty strain
Mmm, don't you feel a little thrilly?
Gee, it's getting chilly
Sump'n good'll come from that
When you're strolling though the wheresies
You need a whosies to lean upon
But when you have no whosies
To hug and whatsies, gosh, darn
Mmm, would you like to take walk?
Mmm, do you think it's gonna rain?
Mmm, ain't you tired of the talkies?
I prefer the walkies
Sump'n good'll come from that
My little heart is full of palpitation
What I need is consolation
I'd like to stage a little celebration
In the moonlight, right away
I'll feel all pepped if you'll accept
My friendly invitation
Mmm, would you like to take walk?
Mmm, do you think it's gonna rain?
Mmm, how about a sarsaparilla?
Gee, the moon is yeller
Sump'n good'll come from that
Mmm, have you heard the latest song?
Mmm, it's a very pretty strain
Mmm, don't you feel a little thrilly?
Gee, it's getting chilly
Sump'n good'll come from that
When you're strolling though the wheresies
You need a whosies to lean upon
But when you have no whosies
To hug and whatsies, gosh, darn
Mmm, would you like to take walk?
Mmm, do you think it's gonna rain?
Mmm, ain't you tired of the talkies?
I prefer the walkies
Sump'n good'll come from that
The words of the song are a conversation between two people who pass by each other, and one person asks the other if they would like to take a walk. The lyrics express the excitement and anticipation of a potential romantic encounter. The singer is eager to spend time together and suggests different things they could do while walking, such as getting a drink or enjoying the moonlight. The refrain "Mmm, sump'n good'll come from that" reflects their optimistic outlook on the possibilities of the moment.
The playful and flirtatious lyrics were originally written by Irving Kahal and Pierre Norman in 1931. The song quickly became a popular hit, and it has since been covered by multiple artists over the years, including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw you strolling by your solitary
I noticed you walking alone
Am I nosy? Very, very
I hope you don't mind me asking
I'd like to be a juicy huckleberry
I would like to accompany you
What you're after is a gal
I see that you're looking for someone
We're both in luck, for introductions
We don't need to be introduced
Are not necessary
We can skip that formal part
Mmm, would you like to take walk?
Would you like to join me for a walk?
Mmm, do you think it's gonna rain?
Do you think it's going to rain?
Mmm, how about a sarsaparilla?
Would you like a drink?
Gee, the moon is yeller
Look at the yellow moon
Sump'n good'll come from that
Something good will come out of this
Mmm, have you heard the latest song?
Have you heard the latest song?
Mmm, it's a very pretty strain
It's a beautiful melody
Mmm, don't you feel a little thrilly?
Don't you feel a little thrill?
Gee, it's getting chilly
It's getting cold
When you're strolling though the wheresies
When you're wandering through unfamiliar places
You need a whosies to lean upon
You need someone to lean on
But when you have no whosies
But when you have no one
To hug and whatsies, gosh, darn
To hug and chat, gosh darn it
Mmm, ain't you tired of the talkies?
Aren't you tired of movies?
I prefer the walkies
I prefer walking
My little heart is full of palpitation
My heart is pounding
What I need is consolation
What I need is comfort
I'd like to stage a little celebration
I would like to have a small party
In the moonlight, right away
Under the moonlight, immediately
I'll feel all pepped if you'll accept
I'll feel excited if you accept
My friendly invitation
My invitation to be friends
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: MORT DIXON, BILLY ROSE, HARRY WARREN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Anonymous
on What A Wonderful World
What A Wonderful World - Casey Abrams - Lyrics
I see trees of green
Red roses too
I see them bloom
For me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
I see skies of blue
And clouds of white
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Singing how do you do
They're really singing
I love you
I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They'll learn much more
Than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Musical Interlude
The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Singing how do you do
They're really singing
I love you
I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They goin’ learn much more
Than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
I think to myself
What a wonderful world