Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” Topped Charts Decades After Its Release
Table of Contents
The enduring ballad, initially overlooked, found its footing thanks to a film and a renewed appreciation for its message of hope.
- Born into poverty in New Orleans in 1901, Louis Armstrong revolutionized jazz with his improvisational style.
- Despite initial resistance from a record executive, “What a Wonderful World” was released in 1967, aiming to counter societal turmoil.
- The song gained widespread recognition in 1987 after being featured in the film Good Morning, Vietnam.
- In 2025, the Recording Industry Association of America certified the song five-times Platinum, signifying sales of over 5 million copies.
Louis Armstrong, a foundational figure in jazz, didn’t just play music—he transformed it. Born in 1901 and raised in poverty in New Orleans, Armstrong learned music the hard way, beginning with a stint in a reform school brass band. He quickly evolved into one of jazz’s great innovators, establishing improvisation as central to the genre and elevating the lead instrument to the primary expressive voice.
A Crossover Star in a Changing America
By the 1920s, Armstrong had become a national sensation, equally comfortable performing for audiences in Midtown Manhattan and Harlem. His distinctive, gravelly voice transcended jazz circles, making him a crossover star. This appeal was underscored decades later when his jubilant 1964 recording of “Hello, Dolly!” unexpectedly knocked the Beatles from the top of the charts.
Crafting a Message of Hope
In the mid-1960s, songwriter George David Weiss was commissioned to write a song for Armstrong. Weiss, collaborating with Bob Thiele, envisioned a tune that would resonate with diverse audiences, offering a counterpoint to “the deepening national traumas of the Kennedy assassination, Vietnam, racial strife and turmoil everywhere,” as Thiele later wrote in What a Wonderful World: A Lifetime of Recordings. The goal was to have Armstrong articulate, in his unique way, that the world “is great: full of the love and sharing people make possible for themselves and each other every day.”
Weiss and Thiele presented a demo of “What a Wonderful World” to Armstrong. Thiele recalled Armstrong declaring, even before hearing the song in its entirety, “Pops, I dig it. Let’s do it!” However, Armstrong’s clarinetist, Joe Muranyi, remembered the initial reaction being less enthusiastic: “What is this sh*t?”
Despite his initial reservations, Armstrong ultimately embraced the material. According to Riccardi, “Armstrong could sing ‘What a Wonderful World’ and make listeners believe it.” He possessed the wisdom, at age 66, to deliver the lyrics with sincerity. In the hands of another artist, the song might have felt overly sentimental, but with Armstrong, it felt deeply personal—an autobiography set to music.
A Tumultuous Recording Session
The recording session took place on August 16, 1967, in New York City. Larry Newton, the president of ABC Records, arrived hoping for a photo opportunity with Armstrong. However, Newton reportedly detested the song and attempted to halt the session, even trying to physically prevent the musicians from recording.
Thiele stated that Newton subsequently refused to promote the record, resulting in minimal radio airplay and a modest chart performance in the U.S. The song found greater success internationally, reaching No. 1 in England, Belgium, and South Africa, and No. 2 in the Netherlands.
In his later years, Armstrong’s life in the working-class Corona, Queens neighborhood of New York City—where he lived in an unpretentious two-bedroom house from 1943 until his death—seemed to embody the song’s lyrics. “I saw three generations come up on that block,” he shared in one of many interviews from his den. “That’s why I can say, ‘I hear babies cry / I watch them grow / they’ll learn much more / than I’ll never know.’”
Armstrong passed away in 1971, but “What a Wonderful World” continued to resonate.
Revived by Good Morning, Vietnam
In 1987, director Barry Levinson featured “What a Wonderful World” prominently in the film Good Morning, Vietnam. A producer of the film, a Vietnam veteran, recalled that the song had been a staple on Armed Forces Radio during the war.
The film juxtaposed the song’s optimistic message with scenes of devastation—napalm strikes, destroyed homes, and civilian casualties—creating a powerful and poignant effect. The contrast is striking in this scene.
The song was re-released as a single and, two decades after its initial release—17 years after Armstrong’s death and 65 years after his first recordings—it finally became a hit.
Notably, the song had received an early boost in 1978 with a performance on “The Muppet Show”—produced in England, where it had previously topped the charts—featuring Rowlf the Dog delivering a gravelly rendition while petting a sleeping puppy.
Good Morning, Vietnam established a trend: the ironic use of “What a Wonderful World” to underscore scenes of destruction and despair, as seen in films like 12 Monkeys and Madagascar.
Beyond its cinematic appearances, the song has been widely embraced. In 2025, the Recording Industry Association of America certified it five-times Platinum for exceeding 5 million copies sold. “Once listeners found it,” Riccardi says, “they fell in love with it.”
