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!