The Star-Spangled Banner/We Shall Overcome

History was made last night, my friends. I'll save the political discourse but whichever way you voted, you should at least be able to appreciate the significance of this moment in our history. To commemorate it, I'd like to post two Armstrong performances to capture the spirit of this historical day: "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "We Shall Overcome." Here's "The Star-Spangled Banner" from Newport 1960. Dan Morgenstern likes to tell the story about the time at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival when he stood next to James Baldwin as ARmstrong played the Nation Anthem. Baldwin turned to Dan and said, "You know, that's the first time I've liked that song."


And finally, "We Shall Overcome," a very emotional performance from 1970's Louis Armstrong and Friends album. Play it loud.


And finally, a genius YouTube video that combines some of Barack Obama's speeches to the strains of "What a Wonderful World," emphasizing the shared birthday of both African-American heroes:

And THAT ends my career as a political blogger. I'll go on feeling insanely proud and will hopefully be back in the near future with more Pops...though I think I have to listen to that "Star-Spangled Banner" one more time...