Author Archives: Ricky Riccardi

Last time out, Louis Armstrong kicked off his upcoming 70th birthday (now is not the time to go into the whole birthdate fiasco) by recording the album Louis Armstrong and His Friends. As Armstrong’s July 4 birthday approached, he did not celebrate it alone: the event was accompanied by a multimedia onslaught with television specials,Continue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 50–“Dial M for Music” and “Down Beat” and “Saturday Review” Tributes, June 1970″

As referenced in our previous post, Jack Bradley and Louis Armstrong spent a few months apart in late 1969 and early 1970 as Armstrong continued convalescing at home after the health issues that plagued him the previous year and Bradley was spending more time in Massachusetts acting as a road manager for cornetist Bobby Hackett.Continue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 49–Corona Hang and “Louis Armstrong and His Friends” Sessions, Spring 1970″

In our previous post, we detailed some of Louis Armstrong’s rare public appearances that took place after his second stint in intensive care in 1969. He hadn’t made any recordings since July 1968, but that all changed on October 23 when Armstrong found himself back in the studio to record “We Have All the TimeContinue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 48–James Bond Session and Letters from Louis, 1969-1970″

We ended our previous post in a bit of a dark place: Louis Armstrong was in intensive care at Beth Israel Hospital for the second time in six months, Jack Bradley and Jeann “Roni” Failows called it quits after ten years of living together, Failows had a breakdown that landed her in the hospital, anContinue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 47–Riverboat Benefit, Rainbow Grill with Duke Ellington, and USIA Film, 1969″

Our previous post ended with a joyful letter sent from Louis “Strong Arm” to Jack Bradley and Jeann Failows from the Mayfair Hotel in London, where he was cashing in on the runaway success of “What a Wonderful World.” He celebrated his 68th birthday on July 4, flew back to New York on July 5,Continue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 46–Stony Brook and Garden State Arts Center, Plus Louis is Hospitalized 1968-1969″

As alluded to at the end of our previous post, Louis Armstrong spent much of May 1968 on the road, filming Hello, Dolly! in Hollywood, performing at the New Orleans Jazzfest, and doing an engagement in Toronto. He returned home in June 1968, but only had limited time off before heading to Philadelphia to playContinue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 45–Corona Hang and Philadelphia Party June 1968″

In our previous post, Louis Armstrong found out he had a number one hit in England with “What a Wonderful World,” printed up a new diet chart, and prepared for his first New York City nightclub engagement in seven years, opening at the Latin Quarter on April 17. We shared a number of wonderful JackContinue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 44–Backstage at the Latin Quarter April 1968″

Our previous post ended with audio of Louis Armstrong’s appearance on The Tonight Show on March 26, 1968, a normal night in the life of Louis, who had spent much of the first three months of the year on the road and in the recording studio. Just days later, some surprising news was reported inContinue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 43–Latin Quarter Rehearsal and Tonight Show Appearance April 1968″

Today’s post in our ongoing Jack Bradley series is a bit different as we’re going slightly backwards before moving forward. After 41 parts, I have used every detective tool in my arsenal to keep this series flowing in strict chronological order but I recently made a mistake and have to own up to it (offeringContinue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 42–Ford Commercial and Tonight Show Appearances”

A month has passed since the events chronicled in our last post, a Disney recordings session of February 27, 1968, and something has changed: Louis Armstrong has now lost a lot of weight. He had been slowly but steadily shedding pounds after suffering from pneumonia in May 1967, but still looked to be a healthyContinue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 41–Brunswick Rehearsal and Session March 1968″