As Wikipedia notes, Louis Armstrong (1901 – 1971) – nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops" – was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He is among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and different eras in the history of jazz.

The video recording of Armstrong singing "What a Wonderful World" in 1967 is mesmerizing:

Words fall short. Hit the repeat button. And again.

Although the video quality is not great, there is an hour long BBC documentary of Louis Armstrong from 1999 which is well worth watching:

Very few men smile very often. Louis Armstrong was one of them. And mind you he grew up on the streets of New Orleans and had many reasons not to smile with what the world put in his way. And yet there it is.

Seems appropriate that Louis gets the last word here:

When You're Smilin'

When you're smilin' keep on smilin' The whole world smiles with you And when you're laughin' oh when you're laughin' The sun comes shinin' through But when you're cryin' you bring on the rain So stop your sighin' be happy again Keep on smilin' Cause when you're smilin' The whole world smiles with you Oh when you're smilin' keep on smilin' The whole world smiles with you Ah when you're laughin' keep on laughin' The sun comes shinin' through Now when you're cryin' you bring on the rain So stop that sighin' be happy again Keep on smilin' Cause when you're smilin' And the whole world smiles with you The great big world will smile with The whole wide world will smile with you

Songwriters: Daniel Ash / Glenn Campling

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