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.
You Can Depend Me
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll always love you
You know you can depend on me
Now, mama, though someone you've met
Has made you forget, babe
You know you can count on me
Now, baby, I must confess
I'll be lonely, I'll be lonely, I'll be lonely
If you ever need a friend, babe
I'll be yours till the end
You know you can depend on me
The lyrics to Louis Armstrong & The All Stars' song "You Can Depend On Me" are about a person who has been abandoned by their lover. The person singing still loves the lover despite the fact that they have moved on with someone else. He tells the lover that they can always depend on him whenever she needs him.
In the first verse, the singer acknowledges that the lover has said they are through but he still loves her and she can depend on him. In the second verse, the singer mentions that the lover has found someone else, but he is still there for her whenever she needs him. In the third verse, the singer wishes the lover success and happiness but admits he will be lonely without her. Finally, in the chorus, the singer reassures the lover that she can always depend on him.
Line by Line Meaning
Although you said we're through, babe
Even though you've ended our relationship,
I'll always love you
I will always have love for you,
You know you can depend on me
And you can always count on me,
Now, mama, though someone you've met
Now, even though you've found someone new,
Has made you forget, babe
Who's made you forget about me,
You know you can count on me
Just know that you can trust me,
Now, honey, I wish you success, loads of happiness
Now, my dear, I want for you to flourish and have joy in abundance,
Now, baby, I must confess
But my heart aches as I tell you,
I'll be lonely, I'll be lonely, I'll be lonely
That I'll be lonely without you,
If you ever need a friend, babe
But if ever you need a friend,
I'll be yours till the end
Know that I will be there until the very end,
You know you can depend on me
And that I will always be dependable and loyal to you,
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: CHARLES CARPENTER, EARL HINES, LOUIS DUNLAP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Django44
I could listen to this era of Pops' music forever. There is something especially appealing in his vocal and instrumental phrasing, the sound of his voice, the orchestration, melodies and harmonies, all very agreeable. Difficult to define...
@johnwhitehead3360
THE ONE AND ONLY - PRIVILEGED TO MEET HIM IN THE UK. HE KINDLY AUTOGRAPHED AN LP FOR MY DAUGHTER - THANK YOU
@fillra01
Hi, Daggerville. Louis did record this tune in 1951, it was a 'live' recording with the six-piece All Stars during a concert in Pasadena, California, but the original recording was the one put up by bsgs98, done in the OKeh studio in 1931 with a ten-piece band. I use the "michaelminn armstrong" discography to check dates, etc. "dippermouth blog" is excellent for all things Louis. It is run by Ricky Riccardi, a musician, an author, and Archivist at the the Louis Armstrong House Museum, NY.
@Django44
Jos Willems' "All of Me" is also an outstanding reference. Published in 2006, it quickly became the go-to source for the most thorough discography available.
@fillra01
Thanks for putting the words up. Great photos, too.
@Trombonology
Louis was the greatest -- brilliant; he truly rates all the superlatives. Unquestionably the most important musical figure of the 20th century. This side provides a fine example of his unrivalled sense of architectural balance. All his "babes" and "mamas" in the vocal match his improvisatory approach to the trumpet; he instinctively knew how to smooth out the lines with his additions/modifications here and there. Great!
@fillra01
Yes, yes, yes! The greatest! The "dippermouth blog" is excellent for all things Louis... stories, audios, videos, photos. Also 'Louis Armstrong' on facebook.
@TheFunkyKingston
Great..................................
@Daggerville1
Thank you for replying, I appreciate it. Wikipedia was very vague on this hence why I found strange the date differences.
@cabanna1
Such a great talented man! Just Awesome!