Author Archives: Ricky Riccardi

On Tuesday, February 23, the Louis Armstrong House Museum will be presenting “Billie + Q&A and Billie + Louis Panel Discussion” in partnership with Greenwich Entertainment, BBC Music and New Black Films. The event will be streaming live at noon EST on our Facebook page and will feature a dynamic panel discussion with Jazzmeia Horn,Continue reading ““She Just Sends Me All Over”: Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong”

60 years ago today, Louis Armstrong’s vocalist Velma Middleton tragically passed away, alone in a Sierra Leone hospital after collapsing on January 14 in the middle of a grueling tour of Africa. She was only in her mid-40s (she publicly gave her birthday as September 1, 1917 but legal documents have turned up with aContinue reading ““Solid!” A Celebration of Velma Middleton”

Louis Armstrong remains one of the most photographed figures of the 20th century. But one single image seems to stand above the rest: Louis and the Great Sphinx of Giza. The image pops all up all the time on the internet, including a beautiful colorized version by Jordan Lloyd of Dynamichrome. But image raises moreContinue reading ““Dig Us”: 60 Years of Louis Armstrong at the Sphinx”

After a brief hiatus for the election and to celebrate the anniversary of Louis Armstrong’s trip to the Congo, we’re back with part three of our extended look at Louis Armstrong and Comedy. In Part 1, we examined Armstrong’s earliest and greatest influences, Bert Williams and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, and in Part 2, we demonstratedContinue reading “Louis Armstrong and Comedy Part 3: “A Solid Man For Comedy”–Films of the 1930s and Early 40s”

On October 27, 1960, the United Press International reported, “The United Nations Command cracked down Wednesday on unruly troops of Congolese strongman Col. Joseph Mobutu. It ordered the soldiers who have been rampaging through Leopoldville to get out of the capital and back to their barracks by today.” The report added that these soldiers “haveContinue reading ““Satchmo Charms Congo Cats”: Louis Armstrong and Leopoldville, 60 Years Later”

Last week, we kicked off our multi-part examination of Louis Armstrong and comedy with an in-depth look at Armstrong’s two earliest and greatest comedic influences, Bert Williams and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. Armstrong saw Robinson at the Erlanger (still named the Palace) in Chicago in late 1922 and had his life changed right then and there.Continue reading “Louis Armstrong and Comedy Part 2: “Always a Showman!” 1922-1933″

Last week, we promised a long post to scratch the surface of the gigantic topic of Louis Armstrong and Comedy. After assembling it, it was so long that frankly, we weren’t sure how many readers were going to be able to get to the end of it, especially in one shot. Thus, we will beContinue reading “Louis Armstrong and Comedy Part 1: Early Influences Bert Williams and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson”

With today’s post, we will have covered 50 of the 200 or so tapes Louis Armstrong cataloged in the last two years of his life. We fully plan to reach the finish line but there’ll be a small break as we put the finishing touches on an epic Virtual Exhibit about Louis Armstrong’s relationship withContinue reading “Louis Armstrong’s 1969-1971 Tapes: Reels 46-50”