In 2012, Neil McCormick, chief rock music critic at The Telegraph in London, writing about the song in a piece entitled “What Is the Happiest Song of All Time?,” had this say: “…My vote, although it seems almost too obvious, would go to ‘What A Wonderful World,’ performed by Louis Armstrong. Movie poster for “Good Morning, Vietnam” film. The Nails lead singer Marc Campbell talks about those 44 women he sings about over a stock Casio keyboard track. After Armstrong passed away in July 1971, dying of heart failure at the age of 69, the record was re-released and enjoyed modest success. In liner notes for the Ken Burns CD, The Definitive Louis Armstrong, jazz historian and music critic Doug Ramsey says of “West End Blues”: “Mozart, Bartok, or Stravinsky would have been grateful for the inspiration to compose the nine-bar cadenza [Armstrong] improvised to open ‘West End Blues.’ In every element of conception and execution, the recording was a monumental achievement. Yet since the 1950s, Armstrong had been charged by some as being an “Uncle Tom,” catering to white America with his music. com, September 25, 2011. amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; This song was released in 1967. Overdubbing was still rare then. amzn_assoc_linkid = "f3a8c1d6275e34e2898566ac868d0f74"; To be selected for the Towering Song Award, a composition has to be recognized as “an individual song that has influenced our culture in a unique way over many years.” The first Towering Song Award was given in 1995, for Herman Hupfeld’s “As Time Goes By,” performed in the movie Casablanca by Dooley Wilson as the iconic character of Sam. It was also a presidential election year. Including: - Eva Cassidy and Katie Melua (a UK number 1 hit in 2007)- Nick Cave and Shane McGowan- Celine Dion- Rod Stewart and Stevie Wonder- Cliff Richard- Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (a medley with 'Over the Rainbow', see above), When Barry Gibb and Olivia Newton-John sang 'Islands in, The 20 best male singers of all time, ranked in order of, The extraordinary story of Simon & Garfunkel’s life-long, When George Michael secretly donated all royalties from, The Smooth Sanctuary at 7 with Gary Vincent, Download 'I'd Really Love To See You Tonight' on iTunes. amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "thpohidill-20"; Back in the states, ABC’s Larry Newton refused to promote the song, and it reportedly sold only 1,000 copies. Hawaiian musician Israel Kamakawiwo'ole recorded this in a medley with ". “West End Blues” by Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five, Aug 1928 on OKeh label. Bennett went on to cover the song several times, including a 2003 duet with k.d. In 2007 a cover by Katie Meluia and Eva Cassidy was a #1 in the UK. But it wasn’t until 1988, more than 20 years after its first recording, that the song found a bigger audience and grew in stature. Weiss was a songwriter who wrote or co-wrote many songs, including the hit version of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” Initially, Thiele and Weiss had pitched “What A Wonderful World” to Tony Bennett, who turned them down. Here are the songs where they first showed up. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy were both assassinated that spring and summer, and there was growing civil and racial unrest with urban riots and Viet Nam War protests. Let’s do more.”. Statue of Louis Armstrong near the Mahalia Jackson Theater in Louis Armstrong Park, New Orleans. And fifty-three years after it was recorded, Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” was recognized as an iconic standard when its creators were posthumously honored with the Songwriter Hall of Fame’s Towering Song Award in June of 2015 in New York City. Louis Armstrong, on the cover of Life magazine in April 1966, where he is quoted saying, “I never did want to be no Big Star.” Click for copy. But according to one account, Armstrong himself lightened the load, by shaking his head at one point and laughing at the craziness involved, with others joining in. The 66-year-old Armstrong became the oldest act to top the UK charts when this reached #1 in 1968. 1967-1968,” PopHistoryDig.com, November 7, 2012. amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; 1 hits in a row over 14 consecutive weeks. “What A Wonderful World” came out there on one of EMI’s record labels named “His Masters Voice” (HMV), as shown in the photo at left. In fact, he came to the late night recording session and tried to stop it – to the point where he had to be locked out of the studio while the session proceeded. Co-incidentally Eva Cassidy's biggest hit in the UK before this single had been her take on "Somewhere Over The Rainbow," which peaked at #42. In Hollywood, director Barry Levinson was then working on Good Morning, Vietnam, a film that would star Robin Williams as Airman Second Class Adrian Cronauer, a military disc jockey who comes to work for the Armed Forces Radio Service in Saigon during the war. “What a Wonderful World” is … Among Armstrong’s hit recordings are: “Stardust”, “When The Saints Go Marching In,” “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “You Rascal You,” and “Stompin’ at the Savoy.” During his long career he played and sang with some of the most important instrumentalists and vocalists of the time; among them: Bing Crosby, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong’s “Hello, Dolly!” became No. He's married to one of them now - you might be surprised which. The poignant lyrics and Armstrong’s gravelly voice stood in stark contrast to the images of war Levinson would screen, a paradox of sight and sound – not exactly the imagery Thiele, Weiss, and Armstrong had in mind at the song’s creation. The co-writer/guitarist on many Alice Cooper hits, Dick was also Lou Reed's axeman on the Rock n' Roll Animal album. First, some background and context. Thiele was a producer for ABC Records, while Weiss was a songwriter who helped create the hit version of 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' among others. 1 by April, staying there for four weeks. You can put that song on in any context, and people stop and smile.”, What A Wonderful World Music Player Behind the Song: “Angel from Montgomery” by John Prine, Bruce Springsteen Announces Special COVID-19 Relief Concert, “Jersey 4 Jersey”. “What a Wonderful World” was written by the team of jazz producer Bob Thiele (under the pseudonym “George Douglas”) and Songwriter Hall of Fame inductee George David Weiss. A charity single for the Red Cross, the single was only available in Tesco stores, so it was a surprise this version of "What A Wonderful World" outsold the competition in the singles chart. "Stay" by Lisa Loeb was the first #1 hit by an unsigned artist. In December 2011, a BBC promotion celebrating its many years of Natural History on BBC with David Attenborough, offered a collage of footage from Attenborough’s shows as his spoken-word recording of “What a Wonderful World” ran behind it. Writer(s): Douglas George, Thiele Bob "What A Wonderful World" was the biggest-selling hit in the UK in 1968. "Light My Fire" was the first song Doors guitarist Robby Krieger wrote. 32 on the. Ali from Tripoli, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya It's a wonderful, wonderful world. Click for DVD. The song was written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss. He would later perform the song in the popular 1969 film, Hello, Dolly!, which starred Barbra Streisand. amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; "Stay" by Lisa Loeb was the first #1 hit by an unsigned artist. "Wonderful World" has been a hit with filmmakers since its release. The work then proceeded with renewed determination. Here are the songs where they first showed up. This time, it reached a new peak of number 32. amzn_assoc_search_bar = "true"; Thiele was a producer for ABC records, and Weiss was a songwriter who helped create the hit version of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” The song is about appreciating the beauty of our surroundings. This was the last song publicly performed by Eva Cassidy, who died of cancer about six weeks later in 1996. https://www.pophistorydig.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Louis-Armstrong-What-A-Wonderful-World.mp3. “West End Blues” was written by King Oliver as a blues song, named for the West End of New Orleans, Louisiana, a popular picnic and entertainment area on Lake Pontchartrain. Do you remember the first time you heard "email" in a song? Then it was a top 20 hit in Italy in the 1970s. Ethan Hawke got it in the movie Reality Bites. Not to be outdone, his writing partner, Herb Alpert, put the "A" in A&M Records after performing for several years with his band Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass. “West End Blues”-1928 Every time I hear “What A Wonderful World” on the radio or TV it truly brings a warm feeling all over me as I reflect back to that special recording session and breakfast. Armstrong agreed to do the song and in mid-August 1967, Thiele, Weiss and Butler traveled to Las Vegas where they would meet Armstrong for a late-night recording session. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world, Yes I think to myself, what a wonderful world. More songs about gratitude or giving thanks, Marc Campbell - "88 Lines About 44 Women", Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New Words. "Wonderful World" (occasionally referred to as "(What A) Wonderful World") is a song by American singer-songwriter Sam Cooke. Looking for a universal theme, he decided to write about one of the four elements (air, earth, water, fire). Finally, in the 1980s, it charted in the United States, where it had gone nearly unnoticed for two decades. 1 hit in 1964, upending the Beatles. The boss of ABC Records hated this and did not promote it until it became a hit in England. The original plan in 1967 was for the gravel-voiced, quirky jazz legend Armstrong to release the song as a piece that might quell some of the racial and political unrest in America, given its optimism and celebration of life. google_ad_client = "pub-6626803245257925"; At one performance, he reportedly introduced the song with this explanation: “Some of you young folks been saying to me: ‘Hey, Pops – what do you mean, what a wonderful world? Newton had come to Las Vegas to have some publicity photos taken of his new star. “Louis Armstrong: Biography- Jazz: A Film By Ken Burns,” PBS.org. He's married to one of them now - you might be surprised which. Kapp Records released Armstrong’s demo as a commercial single and it became a surprise pop hit reaching No. At its core, it is a myriad of precise cuts... John Prine's longtime guitarist on three essential Prine lines Jason Wilber. "Zombie" by The Cranberries is about an IRA bombing in England that killed two children. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is an English version of a Zulu hunting song from the 1930s. A monthly update on our latest interviews, stories and added songs, Writer/s: Robert Thiele, George Douglas, George David Weiss, More songs about gratitude or giving thanks, Marc Campbell - "88 Lines About 44 Women", Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New Words. So, curiously, it seems to me there is an almost invisible shadow of melancholia in the song that actually magnifies its happiness.
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