“The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 43–Latin Quarter Rehearsal and Tonight Show Appearance April 1968

Our previous post ended with audio of Louis Armstrong’s appearance on The Tonight Show on March 26, 1968, a normal night in the life of Louis, who had spent much of the first three months of the year on the road and in the recording studio. Just days later, some surprising news was reported in Cash Box: Armstrong’s single of “What a Wonderful World” had hit the charts in Great Britain, debuting at number 17. It was just getting started.

According to the lore, Bob Thiele produced “What a Wonderful World” for ABC Paramount without telling to label’s president, Larry Newton. Newton thought that recording a sentimental piece with choir and strings instead of a “Hello, Dolly!” knock-off was a huge mistake and got into an argument with Thiele at the session. Upon its release in October, “What a Wonderful World” received positive reviews in Billboard and Cash Box and Armstrong performed it on The Tonight Show, but Newton refused to put much publicity into marketing it and the song sank without a trace in the United States (though Armstrong did continue to perform it every night).

But Newton must have forgotten about Great Britain. After entering the British charts at number 17, it climbed to number 9 then number 5 and finally hit number 1 on the pop charts by the middle of April, topping offerings by Tom Jones, The Beatles, Otis Redding, and more. Offers came pouring in from England, including a particularly lucrative one from the Batley Variety Club in Yorkshire for an extended engagement in June. Improbably, Armstrong was back on top of the charts–at least overseas–and how was he celebrating?

By typing up a new version of his “Lose Weight the Satchmo Way” diet chart!

As addressed in our last post, Armstrong had been slowly but steadily losing weight through the second half 1967 but then he rapidly seemed to shrink in early March 1968, drawing lots of attention for his new, ultra-slim physique. Back in the mid-1950s, Armstrong discovered the herbal laxative Swiss Kriss and shed 90 pounds between 1954 and 1956. He personally typed up a three-page diet chart and talked about it in various interviews, imploring that fans could write to his manager Joe Glaser to obtain a copy (we have many fan letters from 1950s housewives asking for a copy of Armstrong’s “reducing” chart). But as he slowly but steadily gained weight over the next decade, Armstrong stopped hawking the diet charts (but he never stopped using or talking about Swiss Kriss).

But now, with more attention being paid to his weight, Armstrong decided to print up a new one, sending a copy to Jack Bradley and Jeann “Roni” Failows on April 3, 1968. Here’s the envelope, in Armstrong’s hand:

The next day, Armstrong sent Bradley and Failows a postcard from a Howard Johnson’s in Sarasota, Florida, with “My Pad” scribbled on the front, complete with an arrow to Louis’s room:

On the back, Armstrong does open with a reference to his new hit, referring to Bradley and Failows as “Wonderful Wirls.” Armstrong had done a corporate gig for IBM in New York (Jack Bradley’s photos can be seen here) and I guess they asked him to do a follow-up in Florida; he seemed happy to do it:

In addition to the buzz created overseas by “What a Wonderful World,” Armstrong was also back in the spotlight in New York City as he prepared to open at the Latin Quarter for a two-week engagement on April 17, 1968. It might seem impossible to image, but Armstrong had not performed at a New York City nightclub since a run at Basin Street East in January 1961! In the ensuing seven years, Armstrong performed at venues like Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, the amusement park Freedomland, the World’s Fair in Corona, Jones Beach (all of the above with Jack Bradley photos shared in this series), but he had been off the nightclub circuit for a very long time.

The choice of the Latin Quarter was a special one for Louis and Lucille. The venue opened in 1942 at 200 West 48th Street, between Broadway and Seventh Avenue, but between 1936 and 1940, it was the location of the Cotton Club, where Louis and Lucille met in late 1939. Being back in Manhattan meant extra publicity for both Louis and Lucille, including multiple profiles of their home life and their return to the place where they met. Since the original theme of this website is “That’s My Home,” we thought we’d share two such profiles, as saved by both Jack Bradley and Louis and Lucille Armstrong. First, the New York Post chose to feature Lucille, an excellent change of pace:

Next, an “At Home With…” feature in the April 14 New York Daily News with some great color photos of the Armstrongs at their Corona pad:

While we’re in newspaper mode, here’s a clipping Jack Bradley saved about the Latin Quarter engagement. Check out the opening comedian: Rodney Dangerfield!

Not only was there an opening act, but the ad frames it that Louis would be “starring in” E. M. Loew’s Presentation of Muriel Millard’s “Terre des Femmes” (Women’s World), directed and choreographed by George Reich. The outdoor marquee said the same thing, as photographed by Bradley on a rainy April night in New York:

The chorus girls were obviously a big part of the presentation at the Latin Quarter, as evidenced by the venue’s menu. We debated on even sharing this (and might end up deleting it) but it’s noteworthy that this is Louis’s copy, saved in a scrapbook from opening night and even dated in green ink:

Preparing for such a demanding show/revue would require rehearsal and that’s where the rest of today’s post will reside as Jack Bradley was invited to a closed-door rehearsal and took a few dozen photos. We’ll open with the images Bradley took farthest from the stage, giving a good feel for the size of the room; the All Stars, in addition to Louis, are Tyree Glenn on trombone, Joe Muranyi on clarinet, Marty Napoleon on piano, Buddy Catlett on bass, and Danny Barcelona on drums:

Bradley got closer to the stage as the band was in the middle of taking a break in the presence of Armstrong’s manager, Joe Glaser, shown talking to band boy Bobby Buster, with Louis, Tyree Glenn, and Danny Barcelona in the background:

Glaser departs and the band continues working things out, with the front line now seated, a truly unusual visual as they never sat in performance:

Finally, Louis, Glenn, and Muranyi stood up, Bradley got closer, and the band commenced rehearsing seriously, with Louis going through all the motions as if the place was packed. Bradley kept snapping so here’s a selection of some of his finest photos from this occasion:

Jack thought enough of those last two shots to turn them into prints, which always have a different look and feel from the negatives so we’ll share those, too:

Back to the negatives for a few more:

Nice use of the club’s mirrors here:

After taking so many photos with Glenn in the background, Bradley changed his vantage point and took a bunch from the other side, now with Joe Muranyi back there:

The All Stars’ front line:

Finally, these negatives are a bit scratched up, but they’re still worth sharing as they capture Jewel Brown–the last surviving All Stars–in the spotlight, having a great time:

I do sometimes like to reward the attention spans of our audience by closing with a bonus–and here’s a great one! On April 22, five days into the Latin Quarter engagement, Armstrong once again appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, his third appearance of 1968 and his sixth going back to June 1967. Once again, NBC sent a copy of the audio to Louis on tape and once again, we’d like to share it now!

This appearance appropriately opens with a beautiful performance of “What a Wonderful World,” this time performed by the All Stars instead of the orchestra that accompanied Armstrong’s October version. Armstrong is then invited over to join Carson, who remarks about that song being “the biggest record in England now.” Armstrong agrees, saying, “Struck oil, there.” It’s really crazy to me that even after this publicity and all of Armstrong’s performances, including twice on the biggest talk show on television, the song just did not catch on in the United States.

After that, there’s lots of talk about Armstrong’s recent weight loss, plus Armstrong mentions rehearsing “Hello, Dolly!” with Lennie Hayton’s Orchestra before getting ready to film it with Barbra Streisand. Then, in those days before lots of reruns, Carson asks Armstrong to repeat some of his “greatest hits” stories from his previous appearances, including his tale of meeting the Pope and his feelings for Joe “King” Oliver. This appearance closes with a spirited version of “The Bare Necessities,” which Armstrong had just performed on the Academy Awards telecast the previous week. It features the only trumpet playing of the broadcast and Louis sounds quite strong in that introduction.

We’re going to call an end to this post but we’re not going to call an end to our look at Louis at the Latin Quarter in 1968. Bradley couldn’t take photos of Armstrong’s actual evening shows, but he was invited backstage and took a few dozen photos of Louis with family and friends. It was also during this time that Joe Franklin interviewed Louis in his dressing room and coupled it with an on-air appearance on his radio show by none other than Jack Bradley himself! We’ll have those photos and that audio in our next installment–thanks for reading.