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.
please don’t talk about me when i’m gone
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, honey, though our friendship ceases from now on
And, listen, if you can't say anything real nice
It's better not to talk at all is my advice
We're parting--you go your way, I'll go mine
It's best that we do
Here's a kiss; I hope that this brings lots of luck to you
Remember, please, don't talk about me when I'm gone
We're parting--you go your way, I'll go mine
It's best that we do
Here's a kiss; I hope that this brings lots of luck to you
Makes no difference how I carry on
Remember, please, don't talk about me
Please, don't talk about me
Please, don't talk about me when I'm gone
In Louis Armstrong's song, "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone," the artist discusses the importance of friendship and the impact it can have when it comes to speaking about others when they aren't present. The lyrics start off by stating that while the friendship between the two people may be over, it is important that they do not speak negatively about one another when they aren't around. Armstrong then goes on to advise that if someone can't say anything nice about another person, it's best not to say anything at all. He reinforces this by stating that he hopes people will remember to not speak about him once he is gone, carrying on with the idea that negative words can cause harm even after someone has passed away.
The overall message of the song is to be kind to others and to be mindful of the impact that one's words can have on a person, even after they have left the room. Armstrong sings about the importance of leaving a positive legacy and ensuring that people remember the good parts of a person rather than any negative aspects. The song is a reminder that words can hold great power, and it's important to use them wisely.
Line by Line Meaning
Please, don't talk about me when I'm gone
Don't speak of me when I'm no longer around
Oh, honey, though our friendship ceases from now on
Even if we're no longer friends, please refrain from speaking ill of me
And, listen, if you can't say anything real nice
If you have nothing kind to say, then it's best to keep quiet and not talk about me
It's better not to talk at all is my advice
Remaining silent is preferable if you can't speak positively about me
We're parting--you go your way, I'll go mine
We're going our separate ways
It's best that we do
It's for the best that we part ways
Here's a kiss; I hope that this brings lots of luck to you
Here's a well-wish for your future
Oh, makes no difference how I carry on
It doesn't matter how I live my life from now on
Remember, please, don't talk about me when I'm gone
Again, please refrain from speaking of me when I'm no longer around
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Bee Palmer, Sidney Clare, Sam Stept
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