Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy

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Released
  
1954

Length
  
76:37

Release date
  
1954

Genre
  
Jazz

Recorded
  
Jul 12, 1954

Label
  
Columbia

Producer
  
George Avakian

Awards
  
Grammy Hall of Fame

Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaenthumb7

Louis Armstrong Plays W. C. Handy (1954)
  
Satch Plays Fats (1955)

Artist
  
Louis Armstrong & His All-Stars

Similar
  
Ambassador Satch, Louis Armstrong Meets Os, Porgy and Bess, Louis and the Good Book, Louis and the Angels

Louis Armstrong Plays W. C. Handy is a 1954 studio release by Louis Armstrong and His All Stars, described by Allmusic as "Louis Armstrong's finest record of the 1950s" and "essential music for all serious jazz collections". Columbia CD released the album on CD in 1986 in a much altered form, with alternative versions in place of many of the original songs, but restored the original with its 1997 re-issue, which also included additional tracks: a brief interview by the producer, George Avakian, with W. C. Handy; a joke told by Louis Armstrong; and several rehearsal versions of the songs.

Contents

Side 1

  1. "St. Louis Blues" (Handy) - 8:50
  2. "Yellow Dog Blues" (Handy) - 4:16
  3. "Loveless Love" (Handy) - 4:28
  4. "Aunt Hagar's Blues" (Brymn, Handy) - 4:57
  5. "Long Gone (From The Bowlin' Green)" (Handy, Chris Smith) - 5:08

Side 2

  1. "The Memphis Blues (Or Mister Crump)" (Handy, George A. Norton) - 2:59
  2. "Beale Street Blues" (Handy) - 4:56
  3. "Ole Miss Blues" (Handy) - 3:25
  4. "Chantez Les Bas (Sing 'Em Low)" (Handy) - 4:48
  5. "Hesitating Blues" (Handy) - 5:20
  6. "Atlanta Blues (Make Me One Pallet on Your Floor)" (Dave Elman, Handy) - 4:33

1996 CD bonus tracks

  1. "George Avakian's Interview with W. C. Handy" - 2:44
  2. "Loveless Love [Rehearsal Sequence]" (Handy) - 5:55
  3. "Hesitating Blues [Rehearsal Sequence]" (Handy) - 5:38
  4. "Alligator Story" - 0:47
  5. "Long Gone (From The Bowlin' Green) [Rehearsal Sequence]" (Handy, Smith) - 7:53

Performers

  • Louis Armstrong – trumpet, vocals
  • Barney Bigard – clarinet
  • Barrett Deems – drums
  • Billy Kyle – piano
  • Velma Middleton – vocals
  • Arvell Shaw – bass
  • Trummy Young – trombone

    • Production

  • Rene Arsenault – production assistant
  • George Avakian – producer, engineer, liner notes, reissue producer
  • Gina Bello – design assistant
  • Steven Berkowitz – reissue series
  • Jennifer Ebert – packaging manager
  • Kevin Gore – reissue series
  • Randall Martin – reissue design
  • Patti Matheny – A&R, artist coordination
  • Seth Rothstein – project director, project manager
  • Cozbi Sanchez-Cabrera – art direction, reissue art director
  • Mark Wilder – engineer, digital mastering

    • Songs

    1St Louis Blues8:52
    2Yellow Dog Blues4:18
    3Loveless Love4:29

    References

    Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA