Six Minutes With Satch: Memories of You / You're Lucky to Me

It's another exciting week here at #SixMinutesWithSatch headquarters as we will polish off Louis Armstrong's epic series of 1930-1931 California recordings by Friday, which is cause for celebration. Speaking of causes for celebration, it's also Eubie Blake and Andy Razaf day here on the ol' blog as we have two of their new compositions from the show Blackbirds of 1930 to enjoy.

As I keep mentioning, I don't want to inundate my readers with a thousand pounds of details (I already did that ten years ago for "Memories of You") but there are a few things worth pointing out about these recordings. These October sides are the first Armstrong recorded since August and in the intervening months, leader Vernon Elkins quit the Cotton Club and was replaced by alto saxophonist Les Hite--with the stipulation that Hite retain Elkins's drummer, Lionel Hampton. He immediately makes his presence felt with the vibraphone introduction on "Memories of You," kicking off Hamp's storied career as one of the world's top mallet-wielders. The Hite band acquits itself well, too; "You're Lucky to Me" boots along nicely. Louis's vocals are on point, too, especially the passionate yearning on "Memories of You" (compare it to Irving Mills's flat, emotionless reading on Duke Ellington's version).

But the main story to tell is one of high notes. Louis had been flexing his muscles in the upper register for years, playing the melody on "Pickin' On Your Baby" an octave higher in 1925, hitting those high ones on "Gully Low Blues" with the Hot Seven, holding that famed high note on "West End Blues," etc. But listening to almost all of these tracks, especially in this series, it's fascinating to note that for much of 1929 and 1930, Louis tended to end most of his records with lower notes, often tossing off a little flurry after blowing his top.

But something seems to have happened at the Cotton Club. Louis's wife at the time, Lil Hardin Armstrong, recalled a broadcast where Louis hit a higher note than she had ever heard him hit, stunning her at home and even surprising Louis himself, who wasn't quite sure where it came from. Something must have clicked and all of a sudden, his new calling card was to end on a high note, like the opera stars he worshipped as a teenager.

On "Memories of You, he ends for the first time with slow operatic leap from concert Bb, the fifth, to a high Eb, the tonic. And on "Memories of You," he runs up to a concluding high F, another first, even though it's not quite as fat as the high F's that were to follower. Clearly he hit upon something, something that wasn't going to go away anytime soon, even if it soon began rubbing critics the wrong way.

Nevertheless, the high notes were here to stay. More to come tomorrow--and for the foreseeable future!

LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS SEBASTIAN NEW COTTON CLUB ORCHESTRA
Louis Armstrong (tp, voc), George Orendorff, Harold Scott (tp), Luther Craven (tb), Les Hite (as, cond), Marvin Johnson (as), Charlie Jones (cl, ts), Henry Prince, Harvey Brooks (p), Bill Perkins (g), Joe Bailey (b), Lionel Hampton (d, vbs).
OKeh recording session - Los Angeles, CA October 16, 1930


LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS SEBASTIAN NEW COTTON CLUB ORCHESTRA
Louis Armstrong (tp, voc), George Orendorff, Harold Scott (tp), Luther Craven (tb), Les Hite (as, bars, cond), Marvin Johnson (as), Charlie Jones (cl, ts), Henry Prince, Harvey Brooks (p), Bill
Perkins (g), Joe Bailey (b), Lionel Hampton (d).
OKeh recording session - Los Angeles, CA October 16, 1930


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