FEATURE:
Groovelines
Louis Armstrong – What a Wonderful World
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FOR this edition of Groovelines…
I want to include a song that has such a legacy. In terms of songs that move people and stirs you every time you listen, there are few as potent and beautiful as Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World. Released in 1967, I feel there are few tracks in recorded history that have that simplicity and wonderment. I am going to bring in an article from the BBC soon that highlights how, in spite of What a Wonderful World being this awe-struck and embracing song. The background and story behind how the song got to Louis Armstrong is quite interesting:
“The song was written by producer Bob Thiele (as "George Douglas") and composer and performer George David Weiss.
One source claims the song was first offered to Tony Bennett, who turned it down, although Louis Armstrong biographer Ricky Riccardi disputes this claim. George Weiss recounts in the book Off the Record: Songwriters on Songwriting by Graham Nash that he wrote the song specifically for Louis Armstrong. Weiss was inspired by Armstrong's ability to bring people of different races together.
Because he was gigging at the Tropicana Hotel, Armstrong recorded the song in Las Vegas at Bill Porter’s United Recording studio. The session was scheduled to follow Armstrong's midnight show, and by 2 am the musicians were settled and tape was rolling. Arranger Artie Butler was there with songwriters Weiss and Thiele, and Armstrong was in the studio singing with the orchestra. Armstrong had recently signed to ABC Records, and ABC president Larry Newton showed up to photograph Armstrong.
Newton wanted a swingy pop song like "Hello, Dolly!", a big hit for Armstrong when he was with Kapp Records, so when Newton heard the slow pace of "What a Wonderful World", he tried to stop the session. Newton was locked out of the studio for his disruption, but a second problem arose: nearby freight train whistles interrupted the session twice, forcing the recording to start over. Armstrong shook his head and laughed off the distractions, keeping his composure. The session ended around 6 am, going longer than expected. To make sure the orchestra members were paid extra for their overtime, Armstrong accepted only $250 musicians union scale for his work”.
I am going to end by bringing in a short snippet from NPR. I think that, during such a hard time, a song like What a Wonderful World has not only taken on a new meaning; it is also providing strength and comfort to many others. I am keen to get to the BBC article. First, Smooth Radio highlighted how What a Wonderful World was not an initial hit – but it has taken on a whole new life through film:
“The song was not initially a hit in America, where it sold less than 1,000 copies because ABC Records head Larry Newton did not like the song and chose not to promote it.
However, it was a huge success in the UK, reaching number one and becoming the biggest-selling single of 1968. The song made Louis Armstrong the oldest male to top the UK Singles Chart. Tom Jones later broke this record in 2009.
In 1988, Armstrong's recording appeared in the film Good Morning, Vietnam (despite the film being set in 1965 — two years before it was recorded) and was re-released as a single. This time, it reached a new peak of number 32”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Verve Records/Courtesy of Louis Armstrong House Museum
Although, in my mind, there is no big political angle or alternate meaning behind What a Wonderful World, the fact the song has been used in films/T.V. shows depicting war or as a message to preserve the planet (David Attenborough has performed a version of What a Wonderful World to soundtrack the BBC's nature coverage) is intriguing. Maybe it is a call for peace or a song that should make people stop and think about the world and how we need to protect it. Some see the lyrics as a little cloying and saccharine. I think there is so much power in its simplicity and purity. Armstrong’s gravelled and almost worldly voice gives the song such stature and dignity. In an article from 2011, the BBC discussed how the song’s creators hoped there would be this political power and relevance:
“Its creators, producer Bob Thiele and songwriter George David Weiss, hoped that Armstrong's grandfatherly image would help convey the song's message - and the message was political.
The single was released in 1968, a year in which America saw curfews as race riots spread from Newark and Detroit to over 100 cities. There were fears of a second civil war and the violence included attacks on Jewish shops.
Peter Ling, professor of American Studies at Nottingham, told the BBC that the Jewish-American Thiele and Weiss saw Armstrong as "the perfect ambassador to restore race relations between white people like them and the African-American community."
Unlike that of many black artists, Armstrong's appeal extended irrespective of race, and the hope was that a 66-year-old on the airwaves extolling the virtues of goodwill would wield some heft - the world is wonderful, and so are we all.
Not everyone was convinced, which may account for the single's initial commercial failure. Since the 1950s, Armstrong had been dealing with accusations of being an "Uncle Tom" - of subserviently providing entertainment for white America. Armstrong himself, naturally, disagreed.
Like other songs with universal themes - say, REM's Everybody Hurts - the imprecision of the lyric is seen by the many it reaches as a strength and by others as a weakness - a vagueness approaching greeting-card levels.
It's also irrepressibly public-spirited, people shaking hands on the street are, apparently, "saying I love you" - illustrated in the Attenborough video, oddly, by two hippopotamuses fighting each other in the Okavango river.
And this is not the first time What A Wonderful World's generosity of spirit has been juxtaposed with less-than-cheerful imagery.
The song became better known in America after its ironic use to soundtrack the carnage of war in the 1987 film Good Morning Vietnam. In the UK, it was played at the end of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy as Ford and Arthur anticipate the destruction of the Earth by the Vogons, and puppet show Spitting Image rewrote it with a pollution theme as We've Ruined The World: "I see forests cut down, great ozone holes..."
It also crops up on soundtracks in non-ironic contexts, though these days you're more likely to hear it as part of a medley with Over The Rainbow, performed by Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo'ole in a bare-bones ukulele format that lends an aura of authenticity.
To some, you could add "spirituality" to "authenticity". Like Bridge Over Troubled Water and Stand By Me, it's in a genre you might call "secular sacred" - as at home in choral versions on Songs of Praise as it is in the record collections of atheists”.
It is interesting. I never think of What a Wonderful World as political or being a call for war to end and nations to change their ways. Having read more about the song and its context, perhaps this idea of a slightly aged and dignified Louis Armstrong singing this song with reverence and passion would act as a protest song. For me and many others, it is a tender and touching song that provides strength and contemplation. NPR published an article last month. They spoke with Karen L'Hussier. She talked about how the song resonates with her and the importance it holds:
“The song "What a Wonderful World" helped my dad persevere through challenges. My mom died when I was very young. Her death left my dad a young single father raising two young children in 1969. The song made him happy. And, it showed us there are many places in the world where we could still find joy.
The song is also part of my favorite memory of my dad. I was on a return trip to Massachusetts. Just as I was about to leave, my father and I turned on the song. We sang and danced around the living room before I left.
One day, we'll hold a beautiful celebration of life for my dad. I plan to honor him by playing the song. — Karen L'Hussier, daughter”.
No matter how you interpret the song or when it came into your life, I feel most of us have different reasons for loving What a Wonderful World. When it comes to peace and calling for calm, one can argue that the song is as relevant today than it was at a time of warfare and civil rights conflict. For better and worse, Louis Armstrong’s most-famous song will be…
TIMELESS in its importance.