Author Archives: Ricky Riccardi

In our last post on the tapes Louis Armstrong made between 1969 and 1971, Louis was deep in the middle of a run of listening to his own music–something that continues today as we examine Reels 61-65. (Catch up on the entire series here!) Reel 61Accession Number 1987.3.361 Picking up where we left off onContinue reading “Louis Armstrong’s 1969-1971 Tapes: Reels 61-65”

This is the latest post in our ongoing series analyzing the reel-to-reel tapes Louis Armstrong made between 1969 and 1971–catch up on the whole series here and see below for Reels 56 through 60. Reel 56Accession Number 1987.3.356 Last time out, Armstrong was in the mood to listen to his own music, something that isContinue reading “Louis Armstrong’s 1969-1971 Tapes: Reels 56-60”

Back in 2020, we started a series on this site devoted to the reel-to-reel tapes Louis Armstrong made between getting out of the hospital in the spring of 1969 and his passing in July 1971. With a newly remodeled den and no gigs on the horizon, Armstrong started re-cataloging his reel-to-reels, beginning with a newContinue reading “Louis Armstrong’s 1969-1971 Tapes: Reels 51-55”

It’s been a while since we last checked in with Louis Armstrong and Jack Bradley. To refresh your memory, we last posted a three-part series on Louis’s Jones Beach run with Guy Lombardo in the summer of 1966, which allowed him to remain at his Corona, Queens home and just commute to nearby Long IslandContinue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 25–Hempstead Concert and Central Park Press Conference 1967″

The theme of this site, “That’s My Home,” usually leans heavily towards “home” referring to Louis and Lucille Armstrong’s beloved residence at 34-56 107th Street in Corona, Queens, where each spent their final decades. But when a member of the New Orleans Jazz Club expressed her desire for Louis to return “home” in 1965, LouisContinue reading ““I’ll Never Forget It”: The 100th Anniversary of Louis Armstrong’s Arrival in Chicago”

This is the final part in our series on Louis Armstrong and Guy Lombardo’s Mardi Gras production of the summer of 1966 at Jones Beach. In part one, we covered Louis at home in Corona, Queens as he was afforded the luxury of staying put for two full months instead of his usual road warriorContinue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 24–Jones Beach 1966″

Last time out, we shared Jack Bradley’s photos of Louis Armstrong at home, taken for a Jazz magazine story about Mardi Gras, the Guy Lombardo-led musical extravaganza that took place at Jones Beach from July 8 through September 4, 1966. Bradley eventually shot one of the rehearsals, as well as the actual show itself, andContinue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 23: “Mardi Gras” With Guy Lombardo”

This post marks the first in what will be a three-part look at the big event of Louis Armstrong’s life in the summer of 1966: the staging of Mardi Gras at Jones Beach in New York, a collaboration between the trumpeter and his favorite bandleader, Guy Lombardo. Armstrong’s love of Lombardo went back to ChicagoContinue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 22–At Home In Queens July 1966″

After an action-packed week in New York City, filming A Man Called Adam and being celebrated at Carnegie Hall, Louis Armstrong and His All Stars traveled to Reno, where they spent much of December and the first part of January at Harold’s Club. Pianist Billy Kyle sent the following postcard to Jack Bradley and JeannContinue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 21–Iona College Concert and Farewell Billy Kyle”

When Louis Armstrong left the Steel Pier in Atlantic City on July 10, 1965, he embarked on a tour of one-nighters across the United States and Canada, barely getting a day off for several months and not returning to New York until Thanksgiving, November 25. As alluded to at the end of the last post,Continue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 20–A Man Called Adam and Carnegie Hall 1965″