In our previous post, we shared Louis Armstrong’s 1954 Ebony cover story, “Why I Like Dark Women,” in which Armstrong offered his reflections on all four of his wives. He spent the least amount of time on wife number three, Alpha Smith, and we alluded to the reasons behind Armstrong’s bizarre claim that Alpha wasContinue reading ““Louie (My Darling) ZING”–Inside Alpha Smith’s 1926-1931 Scrapbook”
In our previous post, we shared the entire contents of a scrapbook compiled by young Alpha Smith between 1926 and 1931, the years she was courting Louis Armstrong–while Louis was still married to his second wife, Lillian Hardin Armstrong. Though these aren’t dated, these two snapshots seem to be from Louis and Alpha’s early years,Continue reading ““We Love Each Other”: Louis Armstrong and Alpha Smith’s 1932-1933 Snapshots”
Our previous post shared dozens of snapshots Louis Armstrong and Alpha Smith took at home and abroad between July 1932 and May 1933. The earliest photos were taken during Louis’s first trip to England, where he was impressed at the way the locals treated him and especially Alpha. Here’s a couple of photos we didn’tContinue reading ““The King of Jazz and His Sweet Little Wife”: Louis Armstrong and Alpha Smith in Europe 1932-1934″
When we last left off, Louis Armstrong and Alpha Smith abruptly left Europe in January 1935 and headed back to the United States, where they laid low in Chicago as Louis was unable to play trumpet and didn’t want to go back to work for disgraced manager Johnny Collins. On February 14, Chicago welcomed LouisContinue reading ““My Little Hatchetmouth Wife”: The Marriage of Louis Armstrong and Alpha Smith”
In our previous post, we covered the marriage of Louis Armstrong and Alpha Smith, which occurred in Houston on October 11, 1938. In 1940, Louis and Alpha moved from the Hotel Olga to the Hotel Currie at 145th Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem and things appeared to be happy, at least from the outside.Continue reading ““Someday You’ll Be Sorry”: The End of Louis Armstrong and Alpha Smith’s Marriage”
Our previous post discussed the inspiration behind Louis Armstrong’s composition, “Someday You’ll Be Sorry,” and the similarities between that song and “Goodnight Angel,” a 1938 pop tune eventually recorded by Armstrong for the 1957 Decca album Louis and the Angels. This led to a discussion of that supremely beautiful, yet somewhat undervalued LP on Facebook–here’sContinue reading ““My Life’s an Open Book”: Al “Jazzbo” Collins Interviews Louis Armstrong, April 1957″
Happy Holidays, everyone! When it comes to the Christmas season, Louis Armstrong has become almost as much of a mainstay as Santa Claus; the holiday compilation Louis Wishes You a Cool Yule ended up on the Billboard charts a couple of years ago and Armstrong’s Spotify numbers always go through the roof at this timeContinue reading ““Merry Christmas, Everybody–This is Satchmo!” – Louis Armstrong and Stuff Crouch Celebrate Christmas in 1950″
Today would have been the 91st birthday of Jack Bradley, Louis Armstrong’s close friend and personal photographer for the last decade of his life. Ever since Jack passed away in March 2021, we have slowly and steadily told the story through photos and other artifacts of his relationship with Louis, a series that spans 55Continue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 56–The Funeral of Louis Armstrong and CBS Tribute”
[An earlier draft of this post celebrated the 65th anniversary of this broadcast…but the New Year got me and it’s actually 66 years! Even though it’s not a round number, we will continue the celebration because it’s worth celebrating no matter the day or year!] 66 years ago this evening, on January 7, 1959, CBSContinue reading “Timex All Star Jazz Show Celebration Part 1: The Script and First Rehearsal”
In the first part of this series, we shared a little of the backstory of the fourth Timex All Star Jazz Show, including some pages of the first draft of George T. Simon’s script, audio of Louis and Lucille Armstrong rehearsing a second draft of the script, and numerous Maynard Frank Wolfe photographs of theContinue reading “Timex All Star Jazz Show Celebration Part 2: Rehearsal With Duke Ellington”
