A live recording of Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong playing his trumpet for one of the last times is being released to the public for the first time.
On Jan., 29, 1971, Armstrong was a featured performer at the National Press Club in Washington, celebrating the inauguration of fellow Louisiana native Vernon Louviere as the club’s president. On Friday, Armstrong’s performance was played back in the same place for musicians, historians and some who were there for the original performance.
Additional Photos
The new album is called “Red Beans and Rice-ly Yours: Satchmo at the National Press Club.”
Amy Louviere, who was 11 when Armstrong played for her father’s inauguration at the club, recalled the audience’s delight when he pulled out his horn 41 years ago. Later he made her say “spaghetti” to get her to smile for a picture, she said.
“He just captured the audience,” she said. “They were thrilled.”
Looking back, the performance was Armstrong’s goodbye in many ways. It was the last recording made of him performing live that was meant to be played back some day. His only later performances on trumpet were quick TV snippets with Dick Cavett and Johnny Carson.
His health had been suffering for years after a heart attack and trouble with his kidneys. Armstrong stayed home resting for much of 1969 and 1970, according to Ricky Riccardi, the archivist for the Louis Armstrong House Museum in New York and author of “What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong’s Later Years.”
He felt strong enough, though, to make a comeback with a few short performances in Las Vegas and then in Washington. That’s when he surprised the crowd — which included such politicians as Hale Boggs and George Romney — by pulling out his trumpet for tunes like “Hello Dolly” and signing his autobiography with “Boy From New Orleans.”
Armstrong died less than six months later on July 6, 1971.
“He had such a love of performing,” Riccardi said. “He had been off the scene for so long that I think he cherished any opportunity to get in front of an audience if he was feeling up to it.”
Serena joins Venus on raw-food diet
Serena Williams said altering her diet in support of big sister Venus hasn’t been much of a hardship.
Serena said she’s cut down on eating chicken and fish and is eating more raw foods like Venus, who adopted the change to help her body cope with Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease that can cause fatigue and joint pain. But while the new diet has been a big change for Venus, it’s not been that big a deal for Serena, she said.
“I’ve always been a better eater than her, even though I’m a lot, lot thicker,” she said, laughing.
Both Serena and Venus have been back on the tennis court recently after dealing with health issues.
Two black men sue producers of ‘Bachelor’
Robert Galinsky is skeptical about claims by producers of ABC’s “The Bachelor” that they’ve had a hard time finding black singles willing to be on the show.
Back when he was an acting teacher, Galinsky’s students were predominantly white. But now that he tries to help people break into show business as operator of the New York Reality TV School, about half of his students are racial minorities.
The nearly all-white racial makeup of “The Bachelor” (and its spinoff, “The Bachelorette”) has simmered as an issue for years. Now it’s the focus of a lawsuit filed last week by two black men from Nashville, Tenn., who say they were given little consideration when they tried to get on the show.
Through 16 seasons, all of the men given star billing to search for a mate were white. Same with the women in the seven seasons of “The Bachelorette.” Two Hispanics have been selected winners; the rest were all white.
One of the men who sued, 26-year-old Christopher Johnson, said he was stopped immediately when he went to a casting call for “The Bachelor” and asked what he was doing there. He said he was told to hand in materials, and never got a call-back.
Warner Horizon Television, which produces the series, called the complaint “baseless and without merit.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.