Author Archives: Ricky Riccardi

If you happened to be watching Jeopardy! last night, February 25, 2026, you would have seen the following Louis Armstrong-related clue: The timing of that clip could not have been planned any better as today is the 100th anniversary of the landmark recording of “Heebie Jeebies.” First, though, a declaration: there have been countless influentialContinue reading ““I Got the Heebies!”: 100 Years of “Heebie Jeebies””

Milan Schijatschky passed away this week at the age of 95. You might not recognize that name, but he was a Swiss dentist by trade, in addition to being a photographer who took what might have been Louis Armstrong’s very favorite photo. And he was a friend of mine. If you don’t mind, let meContinue reading ““A Very Fine Man With a Camera”: In Loving Memory of Milan Schijatschky”

A scratchy record can be heard faintly in the background. It’s “Stranger in Paradise,” but it’s not Tony Bennett’s hit recording, it’s an obscure Italian pop singer, Ray Martino. After a few moments, the familar voice of Louis Louis Armstrong speaks: “At home in Corona, Long Island, New York. February 26th, 1956.” All of aContinue reading ““At Home in Corona”: A Memorable Audio Letter from Louis Armstrong, February 6, 1956″

Last week, the 1956 film High Society, starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Louis Armstrong, was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry. Since most of the film was shot in January 1956, we thought that it is a perfect time to do a 70th anniversary post on the making ofContinue reading ““High Society”: 70th Anniversary Celebration!”

Happy New Year and welcome to the first “That’s My Home” post of 2026….and the tenth (and final!) in this ongoing series inspired by the centennial of the first Louis Armstrong Hot Five session of November 1925. Our previous two installments were bonuses of sorts, with Part 8 devoted to sharing audio of Louis listeningContinue reading “Hot Five Centennial Celebration Part 10: Later Reissues in the LP and CD Eras”

Hello folks and welcome to our final post of 2025! It’s been an exciting year as we’ve covered a lot of different stories here on the Louis Armstrong’s “That’s My Home” site, including on sharing hundreds of photos from Louis’s appearances on the Timex All Star Jazz Shows of the 1950s, more looks into theContinue reading “Hot Five Centennial Celebration Part 9: Louis Armstrong House Museum Concert”

Happy Holidays, folks! Here’s a bit of a surprise installment of our Hot Five series, something to sit back, relax, and listen to while hopefully taking some time off at the end of this crazy year. (By the way, if you’d like to catch up, all of our Hot Five posts can now be accessedContinue reading “Hot Five Centennial Celebration Part 8: Louis Spins Records for the Voice of America, July 1956”

Welcome back to the next installment in our series of posts inspired by the first Louis Armstrong Hot Five recording session of November 12, 1925. We’ve come along way since the initial posts and have ended up chronocling the impact George Avakian’s Columbia Records album reissues of the 1940s had on the reputation of thisContinue reading “Hot Five Centennial Celebration Part 7: Columbia Long-Playing Albums of the 1950s”

Last time out, we told the story of George Avakian, who, while still a 21-year-old student at Yale, was hired by Columbia Records oversee a series of jazz reissue albums. Louis Armstrong’s 1920s sides had become coveted collector’s items in the years following their release and Avakian had grown frustrated with how difficult they wereContinue reading “Hot Five Centennial Celebration Part 6: Columbia Records Reissue Albums of the 1940s”

In our (very long) previous installment to this series, we told the tale of how the records Louis Armstrong made with the Hot Five and Hot Seven in the 1920s were extremely influential to those who heard them…but there were a lot of people who didn’t hear them at the time of their release becauseContinue reading “Hot Five Centennial Celebration Part 5: George Avakian and the Release of “King Louis””