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 Go to My Head
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You linger like a haunting refrain
And I find you spinning round
In my brain
Like the bubbles in a glass of champagne
You go to my head
Like a sip of sparkling burgundy brew
Like the kicker in a julep or two
The thrill of the thought
That you might give a thought
To my plea, casts a spell over me
Still I say to myself
Get ahold of yourself
Can't you see that it never can be
You go to my head with a smile
That makes my temperature rise
Like a summer with a thousand Julys
You intoxicate my soul with your eyes
Though I'm certain that this heart of mine
Hasn't a ghost of a chance
In this crazy romance
You go to my head, you go to my head
Though I'm certain that this heart of mine
Hasn't a ghost of a chance
In this crazy romance
You go to my head, you go to my head
The song "You Go to My Head" by Louis Armstrong and Oscar Peterson has lyrics that describe the feeling of being deeply infatuated with someone. The opening line, "You go to my head," signifies how the person's presence has a significant impact on the singer's mind. The lyrics also suggest that the person is like a "haunting refrain," which means they keep coming back and influencing the singer's thoughts.
The singer compares their infatuation to the bubbles in a glass of champagne, which mostly is a reference to how the person's effect is somewhat intoxicating. The lyrics further explain that even the thought of the person thinking about them puts a spell on them.
The last verse of the song has the singer accepting that their love might not be returned. They say that their heart hasn't a ghost of a chance in this crazy romance. Nevertheless, the charisma of the person is enough to intoxicate them entirely.
Line by Line Meaning
You go to my head
You are constantly on my mind and have a significant impact on my emotions and thoughts.
You linger like a haunting refrain
Your presence remains with me, almost like a melody that I can't seem to forget.
And I find you spinning round
I can't shake off the thoughts of you, which continuously revolve in my mind.
In my brain
These thoughts of you are lodged deep in my mind and affect me in ways I cannot fully comprehend.
Like the bubbles in a glass of champagne
Your impact on me is intoxicating and pleasurable, much like the bubbles in champagne.
Like a sip of sparkling burgundy brew
The mere mention of your name is enough to fill me with joy, much like a sip of sparkling wine.
And I find the very mention of you
Even just hearing your name can set off a series of emotions and thoughts in me.
Like the kicker in a julep or two
You have such an impact on me that it's almost like a kick from a potent drink, or two.
The thrill of the thought
The excitement and anticipation of the possibility that you might be thinking of me too.
That you might give a thought
The hope that you might be thinking of me, even for a moment.
To my plea, casts a spell over me
The mere hope of your attention is so powerful that it affects me deeply and in inexplicable ways.
Still I say to myself
Despite my intense feelings, I try to remain rational and grounded.
Get ahold of yourself
I remind myself to control my emotions and not let them get the best of me.
Can't you see that it never can be
I try to remind myself that our relationship can never be anything more than a fantasy.
You go to my head with a smile
Your mere presence, even just the thought of you smiling at me, fills me with immense joy and elation.
That makes my temperature rise
The thought of you, and the intensity of my feelings for you, makes me feel passionately emotional and overwhelmed.
Like a summer with a thousand Julys
The intensity and duration of these emotions is so great that it's like experiencing an endless summer of passion and desire.
You intoxicate my soul with your eyes
Your gaze, your presence, your essence, all intoxicate me completely and fully.
Though I'm certain that this heart of mine
Despite my rational knowledge, my heart still beats and longs for you.
Hasn't a ghost of a chance
I'm aware that the possibility of a relationship with you is essentially nonexistent.
In this crazy romance
Despite everything, I can't help but be drawn to you, and this intense connection that exists between us.
You go to my head, you go to my head
You are all-encompassing in my thoughts, my emotions, and my desires, remaining firmly lodged in my mind, and my heart.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network
Written by: J Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@hcnitterband
Performance:
Louis Armstrong – trumpet, vocals
Oscar Peterson – piano
Herb Ellis – guitar
Ray Brown – double bass
Louie Bellson – drums
Production:
Leonard Feather – liner notes
Val Valentin – engineer
Norman Granz – producer
From the album: Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson (1957)
@franciscoosuna259
I have thought about this song a lot. In particular at 4:15 there is an unintelligible phrase. I thought it was baby talk for years. Then, it came to me. *
At first I thought he was saying "Bubbles to sip." * But, that would not be very Louis *
What is it? What was Louis trying to say? * Could it be
That he was saying "Baubles to sip." *
Little jewels, * tiny diamonds *
* to sip *
* little pearls of
* wisdom?
*
*
Thank you Louis Armstrong, Sachamo
@kaileyllewellyn
I first heard this song on the movie Corrina Corrina growing up and ever since its been one of my favorites. Louis Armstrong was incredibly talented!
@GFNTheDrop
Hard to beat the pure love, sentiment, and sheer beauty of this cut. Six and a half minutes in heaven, plain and simple.
@deanasimms
Yes!!!!
@charlesbarry6730
The voice of Mr America. Louis Satchmo Armstrong.
@tonismith8209
One of the most beautiful songs ever written
@charlieshew
I can play this on repeat all day long!
@mrmiykaelthemoor7421
Charlie Shew you said it.
@marthaalexander7362
Me too! So so beautiful!
@DanielaElenaDavid
And because I can, I do ^_^ 😍
@marymoore8014
Right so beautiful man relaxing.