Verve Records announces Louis in London, the last great performance by the one and only Louis Armstrong. Recorded live just weeks after the groundbreaking GRAMMY® Award-winning artist hit the #1 spot on the UK charts with “What A Wonderful World,” the 13-track collection will be released on standard black and exclusive blue vinyl, CD, and digital on July 12.
Louis Armstrong had a mammoth impact. Regarded by scholars as the first great jazz soloist, his vitality, virtuosity, and approach to phrasing set a new standard for jazz musicians and helped to set the stage for the swing era.
July 2nd, 1968 finds Louis Armstrong and The All Stars still brimming with life, recording their performance in BBC’s London studios. Captured in high fidelity audio and video, Louis in London presents Armstrong delivering everything from the first composition he’s known to have played in public – W.C. Handy’s “Ole Miss” – to the chart-topping “What A Wonderful World” and classic versions of such worldwide hits as “Mack The Knife” and “Hello, Dolly!,” the latter of which premieres today alongside a high definition official performance video.
Louis Armstrong performs “Hello Dolly” live at BBC Studios in 1968
First broadcast on September 22, 1968 as BBC TV’s Show Of The Week – Louis Armstrong, the session poignantly proved to be Armstrong’s last great performance. From the moment Armstrong received a copy of the 1968 London recording, he became determined for the world to hear this music, attaching a note to the outside of the tape box on which he wrote, “For The Fans.” Armstrong sent copies of the BBC concert to friends and played them whenever he received visitors.
Though he could have chosen any number of recordings, including his iconic collaborations with Ella Fitzgerald, he instead returned again and again to the BBC session from the summer of 1968. Now, more than five decades since his passing, this collection will at long last be officially shared with the world.
Louis in London will be accompanied by extensive liner notes by Armstrong’s biographer and Director of Research Collections for the Louis Armstrong House Museum, Ricky Riccardi. “Knowing how badly he wanted his friends and fans to hear this music while he was still alive,” writes Riccardi, “it’s a great source of pride to know that it will now be enjoyed by new generations, including many fans who weren’t even alive at the time Armstrong passed, but who are still inspired by his music and his joy.
“Armstrong once claimed he was here ‘in the cause of happiness.’ All these decades later, albums like Louis in London continue his life’s mission at a time when we still need to be reminded that maybe it still is a wonderful world and maybe we’ll never walk alone after all.”
