THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

767-Louis Armstrong-What a Wonderful World.

1968-Number 1 single.

Best Bit-At 1.17. I always thought Teresa Green was a real person, until I read the lyrics.

Louis Daniel Armstrong (see also best songs 1039-286-231 and 100) was born on August 4th, 1901, in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, he died of a heart attack in his sleep on July 6th, 1971, at the age of 69. Louis Armstrong, who was nicknamed ‘Satchmo,’ ‘Satch,’ and ‘Pops,’ was a trumpeter, and vocalist, and is best remembered as one of the most influential people in the genre of ‘Jazz’ music. The origin of his nickname ‘Satchmo’ is uncertain, but one of the stories goes that it was short for ‘Satchelmouth.’ The tale is that as a young boy in New Orleans, Armstrong would dance for pennies. He scooped the coins off the street and stuck them into his mouth to prevent bigger children from stealing them. Someone dubbed him ‘satchel mouth’ for his mouth acting as a satchel. The nickname ‘Pops’ came from Armstrong’s own tendency to forget people’s names, and simply call them ‘Pops’ instead. You can hear Armstrong referring to himself as ‘Pops’ during this songs spoken intro.

The discography of Louis Armstrong includes at least 46 singles released between 1923-1968, and at least 35 Albums issued in his lifetime, between 1944-1968. Since his death there have been 20 official posthumous releases between 1979-2021. He released his first recordings ‘Froggie Moore’/’Chimes Blues’ in 1923, and his final Album, which includes ‘What a Wonderful World,’ on ‘Louis Armstrong and His Friends’ in 1970. In the UK he has had eight top 40 hit singles, with the double ‘A’ sided ‘What a Wonderful World,’ and ‘Cabaret,’ reaching the Number 1 spot in 1968.

‘What a Wonderful World’ was co-written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss, with the production credited to Thiele. Bob Theile was born on July 27th, 1922, in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York, United States, he died of kidney failure on January 30th, 1996, at the age of 73. Bob Thiele is best remembered for working as a producer on numerous classic Jazz Albums, and collaborating with many of the all time greats of the genre, including Duke Ellington, (1899-1974) (see also best songs 1039) and Gill Scott Heron (1949-2011) (see also best songs 181.) George David Weiss (see also best songs 194) was born on April 9th, 1921, in New York City, United States, he died on August 23rd, 2010, of natural causes, at the age of 89. He was a songwriter, and arranger, who collaborated on three Broadway musicals, and some of the songs he co-wrote include ‘Lullaby of Broadway,’ ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight,’ (he co-wrote the re-written lyrics) and ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love,’ which became a Billboard and UK Number 1 single for Elvis Presley in 1961.

George David Weiss said that he wrote ‘What a Wonderful World’ specifically for Louis Armstrong, as he was inspired by Armstrong’s ability to bring together people of different races. Louis Armstrong was performing at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas, so he chose to record the song nearby at Bill Porter’s (1931-2010) ‘United Recording’ studio following the show at 2.0.am. Armstrong had recently signed to ‘ABC Records,’ and the labels president Larry Newton (1920-2005) who was also present for the recording was very disappointed to hear Armstrong recording a ballad as he wanted him to record a ‘swingy pop’ song like ‘Hello Dolly,’ which had been a Billboard Number 1 for Armstrong in 1964, when he was signed to the ‘Kapp’ record label. Newton was so angered that he tried to stop the session, and was eventually removed and locked out of the studio for his disruption. Following this Newton refused to promote the song in America, which saw it fail to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1988 following the songs use in the American war comedy ‘Good Morning, Vietnam,’ the song finally charted on Billboard, peaking at Number 32.

In the UK ‘What a Wonderful World’ became the best selling song of 1968, and making Louis Armstrong at that time, the oldest ever solo male artist at 66 years old, to have a Number 1 single. In 2007 the recorded duet between Katie Melua, and Eva Cassidy (1963-1996) of ‘What a Wonderful World,’ which was released in aid of the ‘British Red Cross’ charity, saw the track return to Number 1 for a second time.

The colours of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky, are also on the faces of the people passing by. I see friends shaking hands, saying, how do you do? What they’re really saying is I love you.’