Louis Armstrong was right!

Subject: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: Wincing Devil
Date: 10 Jul 01 - 07:04 PM

"All music is folk music. I ain't never heard no horse sing no song!"

Pops was right. Music sung/performed by folks is folk music.

100 years from now, (or 75 years after the death of Sherwood Schwartz) the theme to "Gilligan's Island" will be reverberating thru coffee houses all over.

Wincing Devil   >;-( "The cat was created when the lion sneezed." - Arab myth

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: Wincing Devil
Date: 10 Jul 01 - 07:05 PM

It would help if I spelled Satchmo's name right in the thread title! AARRGGHH!!

--- Title spelling fixed. ---
---Jeff (PA)---

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: Tedham Porterhouse
Date: 10 Jul 01 - 08:49 PM

The quote that you're attributing to Louis Armstrong actually belongs to Big Bill Broonzy.

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: catspaw49
Date: 10 Jul 01 - 09:05 PM

............not to mention the fact that's it's been used here about 8000 times and it makes no more sense now than it ever did.

Thanks for sharing WD........Got any more?

Spaw

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: Bill D
Date: 10 Jul 01 - 11:06 PM

maybe I'll look up the logical fallacy embedded in that, seeing as how I've been complaining about the line for years...or, maybe not

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: Jeremiah McCaw
Date: 10 Jul 01 - 11:59 PM

Oh Hell, I heard it attributed to Woody. Face it - the really good lines have many authors!

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: Oversoul
Date: 11 Jul 01 - 12:23 AM

Some folks call Ledbelly an "Uncle Tom" and I think I know where they are coming from. But what does that make Pete Seeger? Louis Armstrong? Well, let me say just this, a relative gave me a Louis Armstrong "greatest hits" CD as a Christmas gift...I threw the damn thing in the trash as soon as I could. Hell, I could have used the jewel case too. He did wail good with King Oliver, however. Take warning good people!

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: paddymac
Date: 11 Jul 01 - 12:48 AM

Davecoje - Threw it in the trash? Have you checked your prescription, man? Sounds as if it might be in need of adjustment. It's easy to place well known personages on some sort of pedestal, and then criticize them for being mere mortals. IMHO, for his time, and the world he live in, Satchmo gave far more to the human race than he ever took. Next time you get such a gift, PM me an you can mail it to me.

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: Brían
Date: 11 Jul 01 - 07:48 AM

For a mere mortal, he went pretty far. He didn't back down when it came to speaking his mind about desegregation in Little Rock. His singing and playing with Hot Fives and Hot Sevens is still amazing.

Brían.

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: English Jon
Date: 11 Jul 01 - 07:54 AM

I quite like Louis Armstrong. Seems a shame to bin his CD, then again, there's plenty of stuff I might treat the same way....

EJ

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: GUEST,Les/Manchester
Date: 11 Jul 01 - 08:09 AM

Back to the horse thing. Songs & Music can be sorted and grouped into 2 ends of a continuum.

1. Art music is pretty well composed by known people, written down and passed on in notaion and 'performed' by performers and the 'property' of the upper and middle classes.

2. Folk music often has no known creater, is passed orally and sung and played by a much larger range of people and the 'property' of the working class.

Lots of song and music exist nearer the middle of these extremes.

Most of the stuff heard in folk clubs, festivals and conerts would not all meet all the criteria in 2 above but it does sound different to much of Art music.

I don't care for jazz at all but recognise Mr L Armstrong as one of the most important artist ever.

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: Tedham Porterhouse
Date: 11 Jul 01 - 08:17 AM

Davecoje,

You may think that Louis Armstrong belongs in the trash and that Lead Belly was an "Uncle Tom." I consider both to be among the most important musicians and singers of the twentieth century.

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: Wolfgang
Date: 11 Jul 01 - 08:23 AM

All cars are Volkswagen, for I have never seen a horse drive a car.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: KingBrilliant
Date: 11 Jul 01 - 08:29 AM

He was right about it being a wonderful world.
Puuuurrrrr like a 'cat.

Kris

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: Brian Hoskin
Date: 11 Jul 01 - 09:17 AM

Davecoje,

Perhaps you'd like to justify your accusations, rather than just stick them in as 'throw away' lines?

Brian

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: sophocleese
Date: 11 Jul 01 - 12:14 PM

The only 'accusation' that Davecoje has made is that he doesn't like listening to Louis Armstrong. This is upsetting and even, apparently, earthshattering to those who 'accuse' themselves of liking Louis Armstrong. Oh dear. I don't think it makes Davecoje a bad person though, just as my take it or leave it approach to Dylan doesn't mean that I am a bad person. A long list of 'I like A' followed by 'I don't like A' is pretty boring reading though.

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: GUEST,Seth in China
Date: 11 Jul 01 - 12:16 PM

One of the things that my wife and I agree about (one of the few), is that if the house catches fire we grab the picture of her with Louis Armstrong taken when she was 16, at a concert in Tacoma in 1961. Seth from China

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 11 Jul 01 - 12:24 PM

Now the REALLY important thing that Louis said, was "KEEP REGULAR!" His own personal laxitive was "Swiss Kriss" and apparently if he liked you, he gave you a package! I KNOW that Big Bill Broonzy didn't do THAT!

Rick

Bye the way, Louis was on the cutting edge for ten years, and then mellowed. What's the problem with that? If Django, Charlie Christian and especially Bix had kept playing into their seventies, ya DON'T think they'd have tried to make some money? Legendary firebrands die very young (for the most part). Can you imagine how important Elvis would have been had he died immediately following the Sun Sessions......not with middle age middle class folks, but with folk and blues fans. He'd have died broke though.

Rick again

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: Brian Hoskin
Date: 11 Jul 01 - 12:30 PM

sophocleese, I thought that Davecoje was suggesting that Louis Armstrong was an 'Uncle Tom' figure, not a new suggestion admittedly, but still one I feel should be justified. If someone feels strongly enough about this to make the comment, then why not say more. Of course, I might have misinterpreted Davecoje's comments(?)

BTW I never said anyone was 'a bad person', I'm actually interested in this particular interpretation of Armstrong.

Brian

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: GUEST,Frank Hamilton
Date: 11 Jul 01 - 10:34 PM

A lot of folks may not realize how influential Louis' style of singing was in the popular music of the 20's and 30's. Bing Crosby owes much of his popularity to Louis, a major influence on Bing. Prior to Louis' vocals, pop music consisted of the crooning of effete tenor singers. Louis phrased in a jazz manner and changed the style of pop singing forever.

I personally love everything Louis ever sang any time and it's also interesting to note that one of his favorite bands was....are you ready?.....Guy Lombardo.

Louis had the capacity for appreciating all kinds of music and never put anyone down. He was a towering figure in American music and a major influence.

There has never been a singer like him since. He sang with conviction, humor, magenetism and aside from being the king of jazz musicians, he was an extroardinary showman. I had the privilege of hearing him live at concerts held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles playing with Jack Teagarden, Barney Bigard, Arvell Shaw and Cozy Cole. A fine band.

As a human being, he was generous. He gave away his first million dollars to others and supplied bags of coal during one of his concerts in the winter Northeast to people in need.

He was a major contributor to the NAACP as well.

He traveled with integrated bands when in was dangerous to do so.

I can't think of a more extraordinary musician who was a great humanitarian, musically sophisticated, and yet down to earth where the people are.

Pops lives!

Frank

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: Naemanson
Date: 12 Jul 01 - 05:02 AM

"If it sounds good, it IS good."

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: GeorgeH
Date: 12 Jul 01 - 05:53 AM

For f**ks sake . . whoever said it, it was a "smart" throwaway at the time . . which has since been picked up by all sorts of fools who clearly can't come up with an original thought and so recycle a meaningless cliche . .

And as if that's not bad enough we have middle-class whites denigrating blacks, in days when being black was (broad generalisation coming up) far more of a disadvantage than it is now, for not being radical enough.

Just occasionally I despair of some folks round here.

G.

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: RoyH (Burl)
Date: 12 Jul 01 - 10:02 AM

Frank Hamilton, you are exactly right, or as we say over here, 'Spot On'. Louis was everything you say. His Hot 5 work was absolute genius, never bettered by anybody in my opinion. It was suffused with the warmth and humanity of the mans personality, qualities that never diminished however much his music mellowed in latter years. Alan Lomax praised his singing as being akin to a fiery preacher (not his exact words, but I haven't time to search for the quote) As for that 'Horses' quote, George H you have it right with 'meaningless cliche'. Bert Lloyd called it "That dreary axiom", and it certainly is dreary especially when trotted out by some grinning boor who thinks he's being funny. What's funny about it? Mildly funny perhaps the first time you hear it, but for the thousand and fifth time in thirty years? No Sir. As for who said it, well he may not have been the first but Big Bill Broonzy says it on an 'In Concert' album shared with Pete Seeger. It was originally a radio show I believe. I used to have it but loaned it to someone who promptly emigrated. Burl.

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: GUEST,RichM
Date: 12 Jul 01 - 12:21 PM

It all comes back to personal definitions, doesn't it?

And definitions are always exclusive -- rather than inclusive.

Two of my favorite kinds of music are infected by this definitionism--bluegrass and irish trad.

Well, I ain't a horse either; it's all f**k to me.

Rich

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: CRANKY YANKEE
Date: 12 Jul 01 - 12:56 PM

WOLFGANG, OLD BOY, WHAT A GREAT ARGUMENT!!!!!!!!.. I was beginning to think that I was the only person in the world who could construct a valid argument

In the world of Logic, a valid argument isn't necessarily a true statement. A valid argument is a valid argument.

As for the rest of you, I think that you are spending entirely too much time fitting things into categories. IF YOU LIKE IT, THEN, GO AHEAD AND LIKE IT.

Woolfie, I hope that our paths will cross somew day, I'd lik to shake your hand.

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: Wolfgang
Date: 16 Jul 01 - 03:59 AM

Thanks,

handshaking and whatever may follow after that would be great, but the water is wide and I cannot swim over...

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: keberoxu
Date: 14 Feb 21 - 06:19 PM

Another myth, although like certain myths
there may be a grain of truth behind it?


Mr. Armstrong
(who preferred "Louis" to "Louie," and I concur)
autographed/signed things by writing
"Red Beans and Rice-ly Yours."

I just had red beans and rice for supper,
and I thought of Mr Armstrong with every savory bite.

Subject: RE: Louis Armstrong was right!
From: keberoxu
Date: 15 Feb 21 - 11:08 AM

Freda de Knight authored a 1948 cookbook called
The Ebony Cookbook: A Date with a Dish.
Ebony almost certainly refers to the monthly magazine,
which is still being published today.

It is in this 1948 publication that
de Knight immortalizes Louis Armstrong as "the modern Gabriel"
and quotes his signatures "later in life"
with the culinary tribute to red beans and rice.