“What A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong was written in 1967 by George David Weiss and George Douglas, an alias for Bob Thiele, Armstrong’s producer at ABC Records. It was a number one hit in the U.K. in the 1960s, then it was a top 20 hit in Italy in the 1970s. Finally, in the 1980s, it was released in the U.S and went unnoticed for nearly two decades. Until it was played in the Robin Williams movie Good Morning, Vietnam, “What a Wonderful World” made it to the U.S. top 40 charts. Unfortunately, Armstrong had already died in 1971. 

   However, the song quelled some of the racial and political unrest in America, given its optimism and celebration of life. The jazz hit is trying to convey that the simple things in life matter, like the sun, the moon, the trees and the people. Armstrong was one of the originators of jazz, with the incredible ability to play the trumpet and sing as a vocalist. His style of voice in his songs changed the way so many jazz musicians looked at music. He sang in what was basically his speaking voice, with a unique delivery and sense of phrasing that made him instantly recognizable. “What A Wonderful World” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. 

    In addition, the song had a slow rhythm in which Armstrongs bassy voice slurred over and constantly paused to hear the sound of the violin,drum,trumpet,double bass and harpsichord that created the rhythm of the song. A combination of these instruments created the sound of a jazz orchestra one could say. 

   Louis Armstrong remains one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time. His other hits such as his collaboration with Ella Fitzgerald on “Dream a Little Dream of Me” also hold weight in the history of jazz and all it has done to the rhythm and blues music industry.