The Jazzy World of Louis

American jazz musician, trumpeter, and singer Louis Armstrong was born in 1901 and grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. At a young age he learned to play the cornet and in his teen learned music by listening to the pioneer jazz artists of the day among them the leading New Orleans cornetist, King Oliver. He played in marching and jazz bands.

Armstrong was featured as an entertainer in movies and TV appearances. In 1947 in the film "New Orleans" he performed in a Dixieland band. During the time of his greatest popularity he produced hit recordings such as “Mack the Knife” and “Hello, Dolly!” and outstanding albums such as his tributes to W.C. Handy and Fats Waller. His last film appearance was in the 1969 film "Hello, Dolly! "

Among Armstrong's autobiographies is Swing That Music (1936) and Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans (1954). The house that he shared with his fourth wife, Lucille Wilson, in Queens, New York City, from 1943 until his death in 1971 was preserved as the Louis Armstrong House Museum, which also maintained his archives.

"What a Wonderful World" is a song that was written by Bob Thiele (as "George Douglas") and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong in 1967. The song went to top the pop chart in the UK. When ths song was heard in the film "Good Morning, Vietnam" is was reissued as a single in 1988 and charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was Armstrong's version was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

"A Kiss to Build a Dream On" is a song that was composed by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby and Oscar Hammerstein II. In 1935, Kalmar and Ruby wrote a song called "Moonlight on the Meadow" for the 1935 Marx Brothers film "A Night at the Opera" but the song was not used. Hammerstein later adapted the lyrics to be "A Kiss to Build a Dream On" and it was recorded by Louis Armstrong in 1951.

"La Vie en Rose" (French for 'Life in Pink'; pronounced [la vi ɑ̃ ʁoz]) is the signature song of popular French singer Édith Piaf, written in 1945 and popularized in 1946, and released as a single in 1947. The song became very popular in the United States in 1950, when seven versions reached the Billboard charts. These recordings were made by Tony Martin, Paul Weston, Bing Crosby, Ralph Flanagan, Victor Young, Dean Martin, and Louis Armstrong.

"When the Saints Go Marching In", often referred to as simply "The Saints", is a traditional black spiritual. It originated as a Christian hymn, but is often played by jazz bands. One of the most famous jazz recordings of "The Saints" was made in 1938, by Louis Armstrong and his orchestra. Louis Armstrong helped make The Saints into a jazz standard with his 1938 Decca recording, which was added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2021.

"Hello, Dolly!" is the title song of the popular musical of the same name, with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. A very successful recording was made in 1964 by Louis Armstrong and won the Song of the Year and Male Vocal Performance awards at the 7th Annual Grammy Awards. Armstrong's rendition was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001."Hello Dolly!" became the most successful single of Armstrong's career, followed by a Gold-selling album of the same name.

"We Have All the Time in the World" is a James Bond theme song performed by Louis Armstrong. Its music was composed by John Barry and the lyrics by Hal David. It is a secondary musical theme in the 1969 Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", the title theme being the instrumental "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", also composed by Barry and featured on the accompanying soundtrack album. The song title is taken from James Bond (George Lazenby)'s final words in both the novel and the film, spoken after the death of Tracy Bond (Diana Rigg), his wife. As Armstrong was too ill to play his trumpet, it was therefore played by another musician. The song was released as a single in the US and the UK.