Ain't Misbehavin'

To most folks, Louis Armstrong is probably an icon of nostalgia rather than of innovation. His bulging eyes, his smile, his rasping voice and his firmly rooted trumpet playing all must seem to modern audiences like a cuddly, sepia-toned invitation to reminisce about flappers and penny candy.

The truth is easy to miss, partly because of how thoroughly he razed the landscape of popular music. The work he did in his 30's changed everything to such a degree that giving credit where credit's due is rather like trying to pinpoint the outbreak of an epidemic.

One of the most uproarious ways to demonstrate his impact is to juxtapose two recordings he made of "Ain't Misbehavin'", a little over a month apart in 1929. In one, he is playing under Seger Ellis who delivers the song about as literally as could possibly be imagined. When he sings, "I don't stay out late", it's not a tough sell.

When it's Louis' turn to sing the song, it couldn't be more different. Everything Ellis neglects, Louis throws at the song. It's a freewheeling, sexually threatening, hilarious inversion of the lyric, a revolution so crystal clear that words are unnecessary:

Seger Ellis' version

Louis' version