Louis Armstrong’s Legendary 1968 BBC Session | Interview with Biographer Ricky Riccardi
Louis Armstrong, the indomitable Satchmo, graced the BBC stage in July 1968 with a session that now stands as a testament to his enduring brilliance.
Ricky Riccardi, the diligent archivist and historian from the Louis Armstrong House Museum, has unearthed this gem, ensuring that the world can once again revel in Armstrong’s unmatched artistry. Riccardi, with the keen eye of a true jazz aficionado, recognized the significance of this performance, highlighting Louis’s unwavering resolve to share his music, even as his health waned. The release of ‘Louis in London’ is a swinging reminder of Armstrong’s incredible ability to captivate an audience, his horn still capable of those spine-tingling solos that defined an era. Riccardi envisions this release as just the beginning, a prelude to a treasure trove of unreleased Armstrong performances that could soon serenade jazz lovers around the globe.
“I think the London show captured a new peak for him in 1968”
Given the timing of this recording in July 1968, what was the significance of this period in Louis Armstrong’s career, particularly following his success with ‘What A Wonderful World’?
Ricky Riccardi: To fully appreciate Armstrong’s success in 1968, you kind of have to back up a little bit and look at the rock and pop landscape of the time: the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, Motown, Stax, Janis Joplin, everything in between. And here comes a jazz trumpeter, pushing 70 years old, and he has a number-one hit overseas with a sentimental ballad (and one that he doesn’t play a note of trumpet on). That alone is mind-boggling, but that same year, Armstrong also performed ‘The Bare Necessities’ on the Academy Awards telecast, recorded an album for Brunswick, recorded an album of Disney songs for Buena Vista, finished the album that went along with ‘What a Wonderful World,’ appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson multiple times, and had a high-profile engagement at the Latin Quarter nightclub in Manhattan–it was one of the busiest and most successful years of his career and speaks to his longevity as there weren’t any other artists born in 1901 having that kind of year in 1968.
How would you describe the quality and style of Armstrong’s performance during this BBC session compared to his other live recordings? What stands out most to you?
For me, it’s all about the context. You can find earlier live concerts like ‘Satchmo at Symphony Hall’ from 1947 or ‘At the Crescendo’ in 1955 where he’s pushing himself harder and playing many more demanding trumpet solos, and those albums are still quite wondrous to behold. But Armstrong had a heart attack in 1959, started slowing down after a grueling tour of Africa in 1961, and had major dental surgery that affected his trumpet playing in 1965. Thus, live concerts from 1966 and 1967 are a bit erratic; some nights he could still play quite powerfully, while others he had to play sparingly and sing more because he was tired and in pain. This has led to a stigma around Armstrong in certain circles that by the end of his career, he was barely playing the trumpet and was content on simply being an entertainer. But ‘Louis in London’ dispels all of that from the opening notes of ‘When It’s Sleepy Time Down South.’ He plays two demanding instrumentals and takes marvelous solos on ‘A Kiss to Build a Dream On,’ ‘Hello, Dolly!’ and ‘Rockin’ Chair,’ showing he was still capable of providing spine-tingling moments with his horn at such a late stage. But the London show also impresses with the sheer number of hits Armstrong had amassed up to this point. From ‘Blueberry Hill,’ which he originally recorded in 1949, to ‘Mack the Knife’ from 1955, and then all those 1960s hits, Armstrong had reached a point where a single concert told the story of a lifetime of hits.
In the liner notes, you mention Armstrong’s determination for this music to be heard. Can you share more about his personal feelings towards this particular performance and why it was so important to him?
I think the London show captured a new peak for him in 1968–he played great, sang beautifully, and this edition of the All Stars had a lot of experience playing together and could really read each other’s minds. And then two months later, it was seemingly all over–Armstrong ended up in intensive care for the first of two times and wouldn’t return to the stage with the All Stars for two full years. It was in that bleak period, where doctors were telling Armstrong to retire and where he might have started to believe that he’d never perform again, that the BBC sent him the tapes of the July 1968 shows. And he felt so proud of those sets, proud of his band, proud of the way he played and sang, and all he wanted to do was get back to that place. He tried like hell and did manage to claw his way back on stage for a handful of engagements in late 1970 and early 1971, but even though he still managed to have some strong moments here and there, his health had really deteriorated and he was no longer capable of what he accomplished in London. But I think in those quiet moments in late 1968 and 1969 when he was home with his wife Lucille, making reel-to-reel tapes in the den of his home in Queens, he heard the BBC shows and wanted to leave them as a gift for his fans, something to remember him by.
“The BBC recorded everything to perfection”
What can listeners expect in terms of the audio fidelity and production quality of the ‘Louis In London’ recording? Were there any specific restoration techniques used to enhance the original tapes?
We’re very lucky because recording facilities don’t come any better than the BBC. I’ll admit, I get to hear a lot of unissued Armstrong performances at the Armstrong Archives, many of them taped by Louis himself, and the sound quality is usually below average. But the BBC recorded everything to perfection and the biggest bonus of all, of course, is these were done for television so there’s beautiful, crisp video to go along with each performance. Thus, the original source tapes were already in great shape but our wonderful engineer, Kevin Reeves, did an amazing job in making them somehow sound even better.
The collection includes a range of songs from ‘Ole Miss’ to ‘Mack The Knife.’ How were the tracks for this album selected, and were there any notable omissions or tough choices in the process?
For this release, we wanted to keep the focus on Louis, which worked well with the average length of an LP. Armstrong did two full one-hour sets for the BBC on July 2, 1968, but both shows had features for all of Armstrong’s sidemen and his vocalist, Jewel Brown. The sideman features are excellent, but Louis rarely played on them, instead using those moments to take a breather. Thus, the first decision was to stick only to the songs that featured Louis front and center, but even then, we were a little overtime. There were two humorous duets with Louis’s trombonist Tyree Glenn, and in the end, we made the decision to cut ‘That’s My Desire’ and keep ‘Rockin’ Chair,’ which got us to the perfect length. Perhaps if this is a success, we can revisit the tapes and do a “deluxe” edition with all the sideman features, as they’re really terrific and showcase what a strong edition of the All Stars Armstrong was leading at the time.
How does the ‘Louis In London’ session encapsulate his contributions and legacy in music?
I think it’s the perfect “last hurrah,” a precious glimpse at the kind of show Armstrong was still capable of performing towards the end of his life. But even without the backstory, it stands on its own as a special live performance with all of Armstrong’s big hits, the kind of release that will appeal to the more general fan, who might be inspired to dig deeper into Armstrong’s discography. But more than just the hits, it’s a true punctuation mark on one of the most remarkable careers in show business. There’s material like ‘Ole Miss’ and ‘When the Saints Go Marching In,’ which he first played as a teen in New Orleans, then including his theme song ‘When It’s Sleepy Time Down South,’ which he first recorded in 1931, ‘Indiana,’ his longtime opener with the All Stars, all those pop hits of the late 40s, 50s, and 60s–it really is a summation of an incredible career.
“We’re still looking to Louis Armstrong for hope and optimism”
You write about Armstrong’s mission to spread happiness through his music. How do you believe the ‘Louis In London’ session achieves this, and what emotions do you hope listeners will experience?
Louis Armstrong makes you feel good. ‘What a Wonderful World’ was written for him at a time when it seemed the world was coming apart at the seams, and the only person who could deliver a message of healing, delivered straight from the heart, was Armstrong. And here we are in 2024, and the world is still coming apart at the seams, and we’re still looking to Louis Armstrong for hope and optimism. One of the most emotional moments on the album is ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone,’ which he delivers with so much conviction. But at the same time, the whole album isn’t just a series of sentimental anthems, it’s also a party! Everything swings like mad, and the joy and warmth Armstrong conveys on each and every selection is the aural equivalent of an antidepressant. Armstrong himself wouldn’t have wanted anyone to seriously analyze the music heard on this record; he just would have wanted everyone to have a good time and feel better after listening to it than they did before.
Given the significance of this release, are there any other notable recordings or sessions from Armstrong’s later years that you hope to see released or re-released in the future? What projects are currently in the works at the Louis Armstrong House Museum?
Well, yes, the Louis Armstrong House Museum has the world’s largest archives for any single jazz musician, and that includes hours of previously unissued Armstrong performances, including concerts, nightclub appearances, radio and television broadcasts, and more. I’m hoping ‘Louis in London’ is a big enough success that we can continue returning to the well and issue a steady stream of live Armstrong gems from all different phases of his career in the years ahead. But the Museum doesn’t actively reissue material; we’re just the gatekeepers and need great partners like Verve and the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation to make sure this material gets heard properly. In the meantime, the Museum is dedicated to Armstrong’s life and legacy, and we welcome all readers to Queens to visit the Armstrong House and also the brand new Louis Armstrong Center, which opened up across the street last summer. We have a robust programming schedule with live concerts, lectures, film screenings, and more, so check out our website at louisarmstronghouse.org to find out what’s going on. Every time Armstrong sang ‘What a Wonderful World,’ he thought of his neighborhood in Queens–one visit to the Louis Armstrong House Museum, and you’ll know why.
Klemen Breznikar
Headline photo: Louis Armstrong on Radio 2 and BBC Sounds © BBC Photo Archive
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