Trivia / Louis Armstrong

• Black Sheep Hit: "What a Wonderful World" is a basically an easy-listening pop tune that owes little if anything to the jazz Armstrong is revered for, especially not his early fast-paced Dixeland stuff. Ironically enough, it's also become the one song of his that a lot of younger listeners have heard.
• Breakaway Pop Hit: His '60s hits "Hello, Dolly!" and "What a Wonderful World" introduced him to a younger generation that otherwise wouldn't have known who he was.
• Chart Displacement: Nowadays his best-known song is "What a Wonderful World". While the song did top the charts in the UK on release, it was a flop within his lifetime in the US, and didn't really become popular until its inclusion in the film Good Morning, Vietnam in 1988 (the events of which took place two years before the song was even recorded). His actual Signature Song was "When It's Sleepy Time Down South", as well as his cover of "Hello Dolly!" in the 1960s.
• Cut Song: "Ain't It the Truth" from Cabin in the Sky.
• Follow the Leader: He had what historians refer to as a "Gravity of Style" which caused musicians to emulate the way he played, whether they were conscious of it or not. As such, his influence on Jazz as a whole cannot possibly be overstated.
• Real Song Theme Tune: The short-lived '80s dramedy Frank's Place used "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?".
• Revival by Commercialization: "What a Wonderful World" wasn't successful in the United States when first released in 1968^note It was a massive hit in the United Kingdom and its enduring popularity today is largely owed to it being featured in the 1987 film Good Morning, Vietnam. It was released as a single off the soundtrack in February 1988 and charted in the Billboard Top 40, far outperforming its original release.
• What Could Have Been: The writers of The Jungle Book (1967) had him in mind for the part of King Louie, but somebody in Disney pointed out the racism of casting an African-American as an ape. The part went to another Danza: Louis Prima.^note Whose name was generally pronounced "Louie" and who was safely Italian-American. He also would have played Scat Cat in The Aristocats (in this case, the character would have been called "Satchmo Cat"), but had to drop out after falling ill, so the part went to Scatman Crothers instead.

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