Listening to the Book: Chapter 1

Welcome back to the blog to listen along to some of the great music featured in chapter one of my book, What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong's Later Years. The chapter opens up with a description of "Cornet Chop Suey from the 1947 Town Hall Concert. Here 'tis:


Here's an entire blog on the history of the song: Cornet Chop Suey

Moving backwards to 1945, here's "I Wonder":




Before Town Hall, there was Louis's February 1947 Carnegie Hall concert with Edmond Hall's band. From that show, here's "Ain't Misbehavin'":


And a full blog from that period of "Ain't Misbehavin's": Ain't Misbehavin' Blog

Here's "Confessin'" from Carnegie:


And a full blog on "Confessin'" from this period:Confessin' Blog

Moving to Town Hall, here's "Dear Old Southland":


And a full blog on just this version: Dear Old Southland: Louis and Dick Cary

The legendary "Rockin' Chair" from Town Hall:


My history of Louis and "Rockin' Chair":80 Years of Rockin' Chair

Here's the original RCA version of "Some Day You'll Be Sorry":




And "Jack Armstrong Blue" from that same session:




Finally, some comparisons between the Carnegie and Symphony Hall concerts of November 1947. Here's "Mahogany Hall Stomp" from Carnegie:


And "Mahogany" from Symphony Hall:


For a full "Mahogany Hall Stomp" blog about this period, check this out:
Mahogany Hall Stomp Part 3

Now here's a Carnegie version of "Royal Garden Blues":


And the Symphony Hall version of "Royal Garden Blues":



And again, my full history of the song: Royal Garden Blues Blog

Sid Catlett's "Steak Face" was a highlight at both shows. Here's my blog on the subject, featuring links to both versions:
Steak Face Blog

And finally, the overwhelming "Muskrat Ramble" from Symphony Hall:


And my blog on the early All Stars versions of "Muskrat": Muskrat Ramble Part 3

That'll do it for now. I'll be back in a few days with songs for Chapter 2....til then, thanks for reading!

Comments

Phil Lynch said…
First, your book is really well written, Ricky. I had a sentence early on I was going to compliment you on, but I've kept reading, and naturally can't find it. Congratulations on the excellent work throughout, though!

Have you thought of making a page on this site dedicated to clips that tie in with the book? Months or years from now, it might be hard for new readers to go back and find the posts that tie in with specific chapters. Blogger will let you make several pages and a tab will appear for each, up near your header. Just a thought. Be well!

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