Has any song ever been used more often in movies for ironic purposes? Perhaps the song, written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss as a response to the chaos of the late sixties, is so resolutely beautiful that many people can only embrace it when its juxtaposed with the agony that surrounds us. In fact, while the song was the biggest hit of 1968 in Britain, it wouldn’t be until twenty years later that the film Good Morning Vietnam would bring the song belated commercial success in the US. Despite the fact that it was used as a backdrop to a montage of bombing footage, it became a top 40 hit, his first since “Hello Dolly!” Had he been alive (and therefore 87), it’s hard to say whether he would have appreciated the irony. One year later it would be the theme song for the first season of Family Matters, which might have been more his speed.

Louis Armstrong at www.frenchcreoles.com