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.
yes suh!
Louis Armstrong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Do I let her save my money? Yes suh (yes suh)
When I hear her gentle side and she rolls big black eyes
Does it make goose-pimples rise? Yes suh (yes suh)
Is there going to be a wedding? Yes suh (yes suh)
Is the news already spreading? Yes suh (yes suh)
When we march up side by side and they play "here comes the bride"
Did I cut out misbehaving? yes suh (yes suh)
Is my razor just for shaving? Yes suh (yes suh)
Did I take my girl′s advice, did I give up gin and dice?
Now wasn't that some sacrifice? Yes suh (yes suh)
Did I call home Sally Pringle? Yes suh (yes suh)
Did she bow that she was single? Yes suh (yes suh)
When a man rushed in the flat and demanded "Who is that?"
Did I leave without my hat? Yowza (yes suh)
Louis Armstrong's song "Yes Suh!" is a joyful and upbeat tune that celebrates the joys of romantic love. The lyrics are filled with rhetorical questions that celebrate the things the singer is doing for his lover. Through the chorus of "Yes Suh!", the singer affirms that his lover is indeed calling him "honey," that he is letting her save his money, that he is making sacrifices for her, and that he has even given up "misbehaving" and drinking.
The song's verses are peppered with specific moments that further illustrate the depth of the singer's love. When he hears his lover's voice, it sends "goose-pimples" down his arms. He imagines marching up the aisle with his bride and feeling "puffed up with pride." In the final verse, we learn that the singer, in a moment of romantic passion, went to visit a woman named Sally Pringle. When a man came in and demanded to know who he was, the singer escaped, even forgetting his hat. While the lyrics themselves do not signify great depth of meaning, they celebrate the joy and antics of young love in Armstrong's signature, joyful style.
Line by Line Meaning
Does my baby call me honey? Yes suh (yes suh)
Do I have a loving and affectionate relationship with my partner? Yes, indeed.
Do I let her save my money? Yes suh (yes suh)
Do I trust my partner with my finances? Absolutely.
When I hear her gentle side and she rolls big black eyes
Does it make goose-pimples rise? Yes suh (yes suh)
Does my partner's loving demeanor and physical appearance make me feel overwhelmingly happy? Without a doubt, yes.
Is there going to be a wedding? Yes suh (yes suh)
Am I planning to marry my partner? Yes, definitely.
Is the news already spreading? Yes suh (yes suh)
Is the news of our impending marriage already circulating? Yes, it is.
When we march up side by side and they play "here comes the bride"
Will I be puffed up with pride? Yes suh (yes suh)
Will I feel extremely proud and happy when I walk down the aisle with my partner? Absolutely.
Did I cut out misbehaving? yes suh (yes suh)
Have I made a conscious effort to improve my behavior and become a better person for my partner? Yes, I have.
Is my razor just for shaving? Yes suh (yes suh)
Am I a responsible and mature person who only uses my razor for its intended purpose? Yes, indeed.
Did I take my girl′s advice, did I give up gin and dice?
Now wasn't that some sacrifice? Yes suh (yes suh)
Did I listen to my partner's wise words and give up my vices for the sake of our relationship? Yes, that was a significant sacrifice for me to make.
Did I call home Sally Pringle? Yes suh (yes suh)
Did I use an alias when communicating with someone else? Yes, I did.
Did she bow that she was single? Yes suh (yes suh)
Did the other person I was communicating with know that I believed they were single? Yes, they did.
When a man rushed in the flat and demanded "Who is that?"
Did I leave without my hat? Yowza (yes suh)
When a potentially dangerous situation arose, did I prioritize my safety and leave immediately? Yes, I did.
Writer(s): Andy Razaf, Edgar Dowell
Contributed by Oliver T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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