Author Archives: Ricky Riccardi

Last Friday, we posted the first part in this two-part series where we’ve cracked open “The Ideal Scrapbook,” compiled by Louis Armstrong and Alpha Smith during the wild year of 1931. We rearranged the pages so it would flow chronologically, opening with Armstrong’s final months in California at the start of the year, his troublesContinue reading ““The Ideal Scrap Book”: Inside Louis Armstrong and Alpha Smith’s 1931 Scrapbook Part 2″

One of our most popular posts on this site was a page-by-page examination of a scrapbook Alpha Smith–Louis Armstrong’s then-mistress and future-wife–maintained between 1926 and 1931. It ended with some clippings documenting Armstrong’s time in California, which we covered separately here. But by that point, Alpha filled up her first scrapbook, necessitating the purchase ofContinue reading ““The Ideal Scrap Book”: Inside Louis Armstrong and Alpha Smith’s 1931 Scrapbook Part 1″

One of my duties as Director of Research Collections for the Louis Armstrong House Museum is handling the historic “on this day” type of posts on our social media pages. On the morning of July 14, I realized it was the 70th anniversary of Louis Armstrong’s performance of the “Concerto Grosso” arrangement of “St. LouisContinue reading ““It Gassed Me, Man, It Gassed Me”: Louis Armstrong, Leonard Bernstein, Edward R. Murrow, and W. C. Handy at Lewisohn Stadium, July 14, 1956″

Happy Fourth of July weekend! This Saturday, the United States of America turns 250 and, by my calculations, Louis Armstrong turns 125 (as I truly believe he was born July 4, 1901, a subject for another day. WKCR 89.9 FM is doing their usual 24 hours of Pops (which can you listen to online here),Continue reading ““Satchmo Interview”: Benton Harbor, June 1956″

Welcome back to the third, and final, installment in our series about the creation of Louis Armstrong’s beloved album Ambassador Satch, which was released 70 years ago last month. For those needing a refresher, in Part One, we discussed the genesis of the idea for the album and did a deep, deep dive into theContinue reading “70 Years of “Ambassador Satch” Part 3: Los Angeles Session and Album Release”

70 years ago this month, Columbia Records released a brand new Louis Armstrong recording, Ambassador Satch. Even without listening to it, you just knew it would be a classic based on the album cover alone; here’s Louis Armstrong’s personal copy: The other part of the title, “European Concert Recordings,” though, is only partially accurate. ToContinue reading “70 Years of “Ambassador Satch” Part 1: Amsterdam Concert”

Today’s post is a bit different, but we hope it’s a rewarding one. On April 10, 11, and 12 1953, Louis Armstrong and His All Stars shared a bill with boxing great Sugar Ray Robinson and vocalist Helen Forresst at Loew’s Theater in Rochester, NY. Here’s an ad that ran in the Rochester Democrat andContinue reading ““Sugar Ray, Armstrong Click on Loew’s Stage”: Louis Armstrong and Sugar Ray Robinson in Rochester, April 1953″

65 years ago today, Louis Armstrong and His All Stars stepped into RCA Victor’s Studio A in New York City to begin recording a new album. One member of the All Stars was conspicuously absent; pianist Billy Kyle, who would be replaced for the occasion by none other than Duke Ellington. Over the course ofContinue reading “Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington: 65 Years of “The Great Summit””

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”