The song was written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss, and Armstrong recorded it in 1967, when he was 66 years old. Its gentle words about trees of green, red roses, skies of blue and friends shaking hands were a hopeful message in difficult times.
Surprisingly, the song was not a big hit in America at first. In Britain, however, it went all the way to No. 1 in 1968. Americans truly fell in love with it twenty years later, when it was featured in the 1987 film Good Morning, Vietnam.
Even so, for more than half a century the song never had an official music video. That changed in 2020, when the first official video was released in honor of Armstrong’s birthday month. He was born on August 4, 1901.
The video is a handmade stop-motion animation created by New York artist Cait Davis. She worked almost entirely alone during the pandemic, spending weeks building tiny models by hand. Every detail, from the trees to the roses to the blue sky, was crafted to match the lyrics.
Today, “What a Wonderful World” has been streamed more than a billion times. Satchmo’s warm, gravelly voice still reminds us to notice the simple beauty all around us.
What makes your world wonderful? Share this song with someone who brightens your day.