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Louis In London is a live album of a concert Louis Armstrong and his All-Stars recorded for the BBC on July 2, 1968. It was first aired by the network on September 22, 1968. Armstrong died in 1971 and his health was already taking a a sad turn when this concert took place. It's often been called his last great performance because his health deteriorated significantly shortly thereafter, and his ability to tour was severely limited. When the great tumpeter and singer received a tape recording of his London show he marked it "for the fans" because he was so proud of it. He also made copies on his recently installed high-end Tandberg tape system for each member of the All-Stars. In 1970, nine of the thirteen tracks from this new CD were released on LP as  Louis Armstrong's Greatest Hits Recorded Live  on Brunswick Records in both America and in the UK. The CD was digitally transfered form the original BBC telecast recording and no...

Louis Armstrong was a jazz giant who also made a lot of pop records that were marginally considered jazz, and one of his more famous songs, "What A Wonderful World," falls into the latter category. It's also a record with an interesting backstory. This classic was first released in 1967. It failed to chart in America because the president of  ABC Records, Larry Newton, hated it and refused to promote it. In fact, he even tried to stop the recording session, but - believe it or not - he was locked out of the studio enabling Armstrong to finish his work. Newton wanted a tune similar to Armstrong's huge hit, "Hello Dolly," that went to #1 just three years earlier. Instead, the star produced this slow, string laden ballad with his typically rough but pleasing vocals that everyone recognizes today. The lengthy session also had other distractions. The musicians were interrupted twice more by freight train whistles that forced them to work overtime. So, to insure ...