Today is August 4, meaning it is time to celebrate Louis Armstrong’s “other” birthday (August 4 was a meaningless date to Armstrong, who sincerely believed he was born on July 4, but it’s the date on the baptismal certificate unearthed by Tad Jones so it gives us another reason to celebrate!). Last month, we sharedContinue reading “Happy Birthday, Pops! Louis and Friends Read Birthday Telegrams”
Last week, we got the ball rolling in our new series analyzing the contents of the 200 or so reel-to-reel tapes Louis Armstrong made in the last two years of his life, covering Reels 1 through 5. This week, we will continue with Reels 6 through 10. Reel 6Accession Number 2003.197.8 This is another recycledContinue reading “Louis Armstrong’s 1969-1971 Tapes: Reels 6-10”
Denise Pease has been a resident of Corona for as long she can remember. The familiarity that Louis sparks in her comes from her memories gathering on Louis’s stoop with other children hoping to get the usual 50 cents Louis handed each of them for their college savings–which always ended up at the closest bodegaContinue reading “Neighbor Spotlight: Denise Pease Remembers “Uncle Louis””
This is the third part in what will be a very long series examining the music Louis Armstrong dubbed to tape and cataloged, as well as the collages he designed, in the last two years of his life. (In case you missed it, here’s the links to Part 1 and Part 2.) Today, we continueContinue reading “Louis Armstrong’s 1969-1971 Tapes: Reels 11-15”
This is slightly different edition of “That’s My Home,” but that title phrase will come back in a big way towards the end of this post. (We should mention that we have some very exciting “Hanging With Hyland” segments in the can, but we’re still doing some edits and should have them ready for nextContinue reading ““The Kiss of Joy”: Enrico Tomasso Remembers Louis Armstrong”
Again, for those just joining the party, you can catch up with Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of this series, exploring the reel-to-reel tapes Louis Armstrong made in the last two years of his life. Like last week, we have another run today of 1950s tapes that Louis grabbed off his shelf, renumberedContinue reading “Louis Armstrong’s 1969-1971 Tapes: Reels 16-20”
We promised something special with our “Hanging With Hyland” series and here it is! The Louis Armstrong House Museum remains closed because of the pandemic but that didn’t stop our own Hyland Harris from recently filming a behind-the-scenes walk-through of the Armstrong House. As you’ll hear, he calls this “The Bessie Tour” in honor ofContinue reading “Behind the Scenes Tour of the Armstrong House – Part 1”
Today’s “That’s My Home” post is a different one because it will not feature the voice or music of Louis Armstrong. Instead, we are celebrating Charlie Parker, born 100 years ago on August 29, 1920, with some truly rare “unheard Bird!” Armstrong and Parker might sound like an unlikely pair, given Armstrong’s many public criticismsContinue reading ““Bop Bop Bop”: The Charlie Parker Centennial”
Last week, we presented the first part of a special behind the scenes tour of the Louis Armstrong House Museum, as presented by our own Hyland Harris. In Part 2, Hyland takes us through the famed blue kitchen and upstairs into the guest bedroom. We’ll be sharing one segment a week for the next twoContinue reading “Behind the Scenes Tour of the Armstrong House – Part 2”
We took last week off from our series examining Louis Armstrong’s 1969-1971 tapes in order to celebration Charlie Parker’s Centennial but we’re back today with a look at Reels 21 through 25. Reel 21Accession Number 2003.197.23 Reel 21 is another reel that was originally made in the 1950s with material spanning several years. It opensContinue reading “Louis Armstrong’s 1969-1971 Tapes: Reels 21-25”
