Six....No, NINE Minutes With Satch: Star Dust / Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
When asked to list my favorite Louis Armstrong songs, I struggle like hell and offer up different tunes each time depending on what I've been listening to. Lincoln Center once asked me to pick a top 10 for a Spotify playlist and I begged them to let me make it 20--then spent years kicking myself for a few I left off.
But if I'm ever asked to name just ONE favorite Louis Armstrong performance, well, that's easy and the answer is always the same:
"Star Dust."
To me, folks, this one is IT. The perfect Louis Armstrong recording: one of the greatest songs of the 20th century, a dramatic introduction, a soul-stirring rendering of the melody, a vocal that must be from another planet and a final, operatic chorus that can bring one (one meaning me) to tears every time they hear it. It's all Armstrong, top to bottom, 30 years old and at the true peak of his powers.
And it survives in two takes! Personally, I'm a fan of the famed "Oh memory, oh memory, oh memory" take but I have not issues with the other attempt, which is a bit more spirited, especially with Armstrong's playful playing over the introduction. I have included both versions below because they were technically issued at the same time, I guess making this a rare "Nine Minutes With Satch" post.
The flip side is another wonderful example of Louis trying on one of his friend Bing Crosby's big hits for size. Needless to say, he plays and sings marvelously, though the band's intonation doesn't help matters at times (I always love the glee club vocals because they give us a taste of Armstrong's younger days singing in quartets but the voices here are a little rougher than the ones on some of his 1928 sides).
Anyway, I think the music speaks for itself but if you want to take a deeper dive, I blogged about "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" (which also survives in two takes) way back in 2007 and then updated it in 2011 after it was featured in the HBO series Treme. Click here to read that and to hear the audio of both takes, but also to read an early soapbox statement by yours truly, forecasting the subject matter of my next book (which I had no plans of writing at the time...glad I did!).
And speaking of audio, when I first started this series, I was going to exclusively use Spotify links because it seems like that's how much of the world listened to their music. After a few days, I added YouTube links because I figured there's a lot of people who don't have Spotify, but know how to use YouTube. Personally, I tend to stream everything nowadays, paying for both Spotify and Apple Music subscriptions.
However, I'm the first to admit that streaming is not perfect (and I do miss the perks of physical releases, especially liner notes). Thus, a perfect case in point is the fact that Louis Armstrong's master take of "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" was nowhere to be found on Spotify or Apple Music! Craziness. So below are the Spotify links to the two takes of "Star Dust" but for "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams," I had to go to YouTube. Anyway you can listen to, though, works for me so please enjoy these sides and have a great weekend!
LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Louis Armstrong (tp, voc), Zilner Randolph (tp), Preston Jackson (tb), Lester Boone (as), George James (as), Albert Washington (ts), Charlie Alexander (p), Mike McKendrick (g), John Lindsay
(b), Tubby Hall (d).
OKeh recording session - Chicago, IL November 4, 1931
Star Dust - 2 takes:
LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Louis Armstrong (tp, voc), Zilner Randolph (tp), Preston Jackson (tb), Lester Boone (as), George James (as, cl), Albert Washington (ts), Charlie Alexander (p), Mike McKendrick (g), John Lindsay
(b), Tubby Hall (d), Band (voc).
OKeh recording session - Chicago, IL November 4, 1931
YouTube links:
But if I'm ever asked to name just ONE favorite Louis Armstrong performance, well, that's easy and the answer is always the same:
"Star Dust."
To me, folks, this one is IT. The perfect Louis Armstrong recording: one of the greatest songs of the 20th century, a dramatic introduction, a soul-stirring rendering of the melody, a vocal that must be from another planet and a final, operatic chorus that can bring one (one meaning me) to tears every time they hear it. It's all Armstrong, top to bottom, 30 years old and at the true peak of his powers.
And it survives in two takes! Personally, I'm a fan of the famed "Oh memory, oh memory, oh memory" take but I have not issues with the other attempt, which is a bit more spirited, especially with Armstrong's playful playing over the introduction. I have included both versions below because they were technically issued at the same time, I guess making this a rare "Nine Minutes With Satch" post.
The flip side is another wonderful example of Louis trying on one of his friend Bing Crosby's big hits for size. Needless to say, he plays and sings marvelously, though the band's intonation doesn't help matters at times (I always love the glee club vocals because they give us a taste of Armstrong's younger days singing in quartets but the voices here are a little rougher than the ones on some of his 1928 sides).
Anyway, I think the music speaks for itself but if you want to take a deeper dive, I blogged about "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" (which also survives in two takes) way back in 2007 and then updated it in 2011 after it was featured in the HBO series Treme. Click here to read that and to hear the audio of both takes, but also to read an early soapbox statement by yours truly, forecasting the subject matter of my next book (which I had no plans of writing at the time...glad I did!).
And speaking of audio, when I first started this series, I was going to exclusively use Spotify links because it seems like that's how much of the world listened to their music. After a few days, I added YouTube links because I figured there's a lot of people who don't have Spotify, but know how to use YouTube. Personally, I tend to stream everything nowadays, paying for both Spotify and Apple Music subscriptions.
However, I'm the first to admit that streaming is not perfect (and I do miss the perks of physical releases, especially liner notes). Thus, a perfect case in point is the fact that Louis Armstrong's master take of "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" was nowhere to be found on Spotify or Apple Music! Craziness. So below are the Spotify links to the two takes of "Star Dust" but for "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams," I had to go to YouTube. Anyway you can listen to, though, works for me so please enjoy these sides and have a great weekend!
LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Louis Armstrong (tp, voc), Zilner Randolph (tp), Preston Jackson (tb), Lester Boone (as), George James (as), Albert Washington (ts), Charlie Alexander (p), Mike McKendrick (g), John Lindsay
(b), Tubby Hall (d).
OKeh recording session - Chicago, IL November 4, 1931
Star Dust - 2 takes:
LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Louis Armstrong (tp, voc), Zilner Randolph (tp), Preston Jackson (tb), Lester Boone (as), George James (as, cl), Albert Washington (ts), Charlie Alexander (p), Mike McKendrick (g), John Lindsay
(b), Tubby Hall (d), Band (voc).
OKeh recording session - Chicago, IL November 4, 1931
YouTube links:
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