A Surpising ‘World’ With Satchmo Back on the Charts

Ready for Satchmo-mania?

Louis Armstrong, who profoundly shaped jazz music and pop singing during a remarkable career that spanned almost six decades, is enjoying a surprising but welcome mini-revival.

His 1946 recording of the winsome “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans” is heard weekly as the opening theme of CBS’ “Frank’s Place,” one of the season’s most talked-about TV shows.

More important, Satchmo--one of the numerous nicknames associated with the New Orleans native who died in 1971--is back on the pop charts, thanks to the spotlighting of his 1967 recording of “What a Wonderful World” in the hit film, “Good Morning, Vietnam.”

Most of the music in the comedy-drama about a maverick disc jockey’s misadventures with the military brass consists of such lively, dance-oriented ‘60s R&B; or rock tunes as Martha Reeves & the Vandellas’ “Nowhere to Run” and the Beach Boys’ “I Get Around.” Armstrong’s record, however, is a soothing, idyllic reflection of a peaceful world.

The record’s tone serves as a poignant and dramatic contrast with the film’s portrayal of people caught in the slow, tragic escalation of the war in Vietnam.

With the movie’s massive success (an estimated $63 million in box-office grosses in five weeks), it’s not surprising that the sound-track album on A&M; Records has already gone gold (more than 500,000 copies sold).

But many industry observers were no doubt caught off guard when A&M; released the Armstrong ballad as the first single from the album rather than one of the more aggressive--and conventional--tracks.

The decision, however, has paid off. There are signs that “What a Wonderful World” may be this year’s “Stand By Me,” the 1961 Ben E. King ballad that enjoyed a major revival in 1986 after being featured in the film of the same name. In its second week on the Billboard magazine sales chart, “What a Wonderful World” is already at a healthy No. 58.

Charlie Minor, senior vice president of promotion for A&M; Records, estimates that between 500 and 700 U.S. radio stations are playing the record.

“I thought this was a beautiful, beautiful song and that the listener response would be great if only radio would take a chance on it, and that’s what we’ve found to be the case,” he said this week.

David Anderle, vice president of film and music at A&M; and producer of the sound-track album, said he thought the record was a potential smash as soon as he saw an early version of the film.

“I figured it would be seen as a novelty in the beginning, but that people were going to fall in love with hearing Louis Armstrong and that song. . . . “

“I’m a big Armstrong fan and he has always been very, very special to (A&M; co-chairman) Herb Alpert. Herb’s got his pictures in the office, and I think in some ways Armstrong was the person that Herb looked to as a trumpet player.”

Though “What a Wonderful World” was a big hit in England in the ‘60s, it wasn’t a hit in this country the first time around. Perhaps pop fans here found the record’s tone too rosy for the troubled times.

Sample lines from the song by George Weiss and Bob Thiele:

I see trees of green -- red roses, too

I’ve seen them bloom -- for me and you

And I think to myself,

What a wonderful world.

Armstrong’s influence as a jazz instrumentalist was so strong that many casual pop fans during the modern pop era may well have looked at his singing as simply a novelty sideline, given the hoarse, gravel-like character of his voice. But Armstrong was an important and original stylist with a wonderful sense of life to his singing.

The contrast between his gruff voice and the delicate beauty of a song like “What a Wonderful World” gave the record an extra endearing edge--an acknowledgement that the song was really just a daydream rather than a reflection of the actual world. This contrast was not lost on Armstrong.

An Armstrong retrospective album, released in 1978 by RCA Records as part of its “A Legendary Performer” series, opens with a version of “What a Wonderful World” that was recorded in 1970. Before singing, Armstrong offers this introduction:

“Some of you young folks been saying to me, ‘Hey, Pops, what do you mean, what a wonderful world? How ‘bout all them wars all over the place . . . you call them wonderful? . . . and how ‘bout hunger and pollution? They ain’t so wonderful either.’

“Well, how about listening to ol’ Pops for a minute. Seems to me, it ain’t the world that’s so bad, but what we are doing to it, and all I am saying (in the song) is, ‘See what a wonderful world it would be if only we’d give it a chance.’ Love, baby, love . . . that’s the secret.”

U2 SWEEP--Even U2 fans may be wincing at the way the Irish rock band dominated the just-released Rolling Stone magazine readers’ poll. The group (or its associates) finished first in every possible category except best rock couple (the winner: Whitesnake’s David Cloverdale and actress Tawny Kitaen) and best-dressed male rock artist (David Bowie).

The band not only finished first in the balloting for best artist, album, band, male singer, producer, songwriter, video, album cover, live performance, guitarist, drummer, bassist and sexiest male rock artist (Bono Hewson), but also captured the first three places in the best single competition.

It’s no wonder in the midst of all this adoration that enough Rolling Stone readers were sufficiently turned off or amused by U2’s success during 1987 to vote the band runner-up (to Michael Jackson) in a final category: Hype of the Year.

All this attention and acclaim, of course, can be dangerous for a band, especially one as young as U2, whose members are still in their 20s. The point is not lost on U2 guitarist the Edge.

In an interview in the March 10 issue of Rolling Stone, he says, in response to a question about the impact of the massive success, “We’ve seen the beginning of the U2 myth, and that can become difficult. Like, for instance, Bono’s personality is now so caricatured that I worry whether he’ll be allowed to develop as a lyricist the way I know he can.”

LIVE ACTION: Tickets for Echo & the Bunnymen’s April 3 date at the Universal Amphitheatre with the Screaming Blue Messiahs go on sale today at 10 a.m. . . . The Red Hot Chili Peppers will be joined by Thelonious Monster on March 11 at Cal State Northridge’s Events Center and March 12 at UC Irvine’s Crawford Hall. . . . Lions & Ghosts will be at the Palace on March 18. . . . The Greg Kihn Band will be at the Palomino on March 17.