Virtual Exhibits

We closed the last installment of our ongoing Jack Bradley series by discussing Louis and Lucille Armstrong’s rare vacation in September-October 1963 and promised to tackle the story of Louis’s visit to Jack’s “Bourbon Street” nightclub in this post–except in researching this piece, I discovered that Louis’s visit to Bourbon Street actually occurred before theContinue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 9–Pops Visits Bourbon Street”

Our last two posts in our Jack Bradley series (catch up on everything here) both ended by referencing Louis and Lucille Armstrong’s rare vacation in September-October 1963, a proposed eight-week cruise that, according to clarinetist Joe Darensbourg, was cut short when Louis got the itch to go back to work. Back in New York inContinue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 10–All Stars Rehearsal at Steinway Hall”

On this date in 1963, Louis Armstrong stepped into a recording studio for the first time in over two years. He knocked out recordings of two Broadway showtunes–one, the title song from a production that hadn’t even opened yet–and went right back to performing nightly with his All Stars. Six months later, one of theContinue reading ““It’s Awful Nice To Be Up There Among All Them Beatles”: The Story of “Hello, Dolly!””

Last week, we rolled our ongoing tribute to the late Jack Bradley into a long, multimedia celebration of Louis Armstrong’s December 3, 1963 recording of “Hello, Dolly!,” detailing the lead-up to the session, Bradley’s original apathetic reaction to it, and the single’s surprising rise up the charts, resulting in the temporary dethroning of The BeatlesContinue reading ““The World’s Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 11–Louis Armstrong Day at the World’s Fair”

65 years ago today, on December 18, 1956, Louis Armstrong performed for one-night-only at Royal Festival Hall in London. Writing about it afterwards in the Melody Maker, Max Jones called it a “triumph” and added, “Armstrong felt it as a kind of climax to his career.” Yet, with very few photos, no video, and noContinue reading ““We Want Louis!”: 65 Years of “An Evening For Hungary” at Royal Festival Hall”

Gather the family around, it’s time for the Louis Armstrong Holiday Experience! Join the Louis Armstrong House Museum’s Hyland Harris as he tells some of our favorite stories related to Louis and Lucille Armstrong’s various Christmas celebrations spent at home and on the road. There’s a peak into Louis’s Christmas record collection, a glimpse atContinue reading “The Louis Armstrong Holiday Experience!”

[Above photo taken by Yuzo Sato, May 1970.] Welcome to the 100th post on the Louis Armstrong House Museum’s “That’s My Home” site! Thank you for visiting and for supporting this endeavor, which was born somewhat out of necessity but which we feel has turned into something special. “That’s My Home” launched on March 27,Continue reading “100th Post Celebration!”

When we last left the story of Louis Armstrong and Jack Bradley, “Louis Armstrong Day” had taken place at the World’s Fair in June 1964 shortly after “Hello, Dolly!” hit number one on the pop charts. In early September, Louis returned to the Bronx amusement part Freedomland, where he had performed with the All StarsContinue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 12–Freedomland 1964″

In the last post in this series, Louis Armstrong and His All Stars performed for four days on Labor Day weekend at the Bronx amusement park Freedomland and Jack Bradley was there to shoot dozens of wonderful photos of Louis and friends offstage and on. Louis then had some rare time off in September 1964,Continue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 13–Yale Concert and Mercury Session”

In many way, looking at photos of Louis Armstrong can feel like looking at a Rorschach Test. A single image can invoke lots of complex feelings. Where some people might see joy, others see pain. Some are charmed by Armstrong’s smile, others feel uncomfortable. Some just feel warmth, others sense inner turmoil. Some marvel atContinue reading ““The Greatest Photo Taker”: Remembering Jack Bradley Part 14–Suzy Cute Commercial Shoot”