Louis Armstrong - On The Sunny Side Of The Street

[pmg5028]

this is by far my favorite version of this song. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT ALBUM THIS IS ON!?

[ecmpave]

such a nice groove

[wallyanimations]

waw, what great comments

cheers guys

greets from Belgium

[paulchenbx]

Thank you, Andre, you learn me the feeling for this fantastic music

[roquefort88888]

What a recording this is.

The other version that I love is the Cyndi Lauper one - what a testament to the quality of a song that there can be two such excellent recordings of it in such utterly different styles.

[phyllodendron]

The absolute BEST version by anyone, at any time, any place. The noodling support by his sidemen is masterful, but especially that of Louis' favourite drummer Big Sid. Notice that all through Louis' singing we do not hear him on the drums until the break (4:36) and then just before the close at 4:56 "..gold dust at my feet" Sid barely connects with his splash cymbal - evoking an image of gold dust sprinkling down. And what 47 year-old horn player today could play the break Louis does at 6:17!!

[theinkmonitor]

This gives me a lump in my throat and goose bumps - what I wouldn't give to have been at this fabulous live performance!! (On my version there is audience applause at the end)

Can you tell me where and when it was recorded?

[Urbino237]

@theinkmonitor From his concert at Symphony Hall, Boston, November 30, 1947. The first release was a 2-LP set, in part because each sideman gets two solo pieces, and also because some tracks are unusually long. A while ago the 2 LPs were reduced to one CD, but 2 or 3 tunes were eliminated in the process. Also available on iTunes, "Louis Armstrong at Symphony Hall". This concert came along shortly after Louis' big band broke up, so he was refreshed and back to his favourite small group size.

[theinkmonitor]

Thank you very much for the invaluable info Urbino237. Looking at what is available online I think I have one of the EPs somewhere in my collection of early vinyl that we used to listen to in the early 60s, but everything is packed away right now. . CONT/……

[theinkmonitor]

@Urbino237 During the 60s and 70s a lot of my friends were black US airmen who were stationed on the bases over here in the UK, and I remember one conversation I had with Sandy (for that was his name) where he was quite disdainful of Satchmo, looking on him as some sort of novelty token black man “that pleased the white folks” in the US. CONT/……

[theinkmonitor]

@Urbino237 This shocked me somewhat (we embraced everyone who was good – this was the reason that so many black blues singers did so well and had their careers resurrected over here in the early 1960s) but he wouldn’t be told that he was certainly more than that – he was a fabulous musician!! Sandy was into organ jazz (Richard ‘Groove’ Holmes, Charles Earland etc.) so it wasn’t as though he was just a Tamla Motown fan or whatever. CONT/……

[theinkmonitor]

@Urbino237 I remember seeing Satchmo over here in London in the mid 60s just before he died – it was so sad to see him so painfully thin and not the man he was, and as I’ve said before – what I wouldn’t give to be in that audience in 1947! As can be heard on the track he was clearly a very happy man being back playing with his friends in just a small combo – when he gets the audience reaction after he stops singing it brings tears to my eyes………….

What can I say? The man was a genius.

[Urbino237]

@theinkmonitor He truly was (a musical genius) I believe, and was also humble to a fault. The lengthy applause following his singing conveys the audience's love for him and an appreciation of his enormous contribution to music - but also carries an unspoken message of "We're glad you're back, Pops!" Louis never forgot the kindness of the Karnofsky family, nor his picking through garbage for food when a child. At age 7 his singing on street corners was more for the coin than for entertainment...

[Urbino237]

@theinkmonitor I was fortunate to see him in 1959 and he was still as strong as an ox; what a show! I was only 14 and so excited to see my musical idol that I was shaking like a leaf. And as he was told in his early recording days, he stood well back of the centre-stage microphone - which he really did not need at all. I can still hear his glorious notes soaring through the rafters into Gabriel's domain. How distinct his tone and sound - why is that not the case with today's trumpet players?

[theinkmonitor]

@Urbino237 Thanks for your memories and info. He truly was a wonderful musician and person, and the joy of his audience can be heard along with the joy he felt at being back to what he did best AND that very few could attain.

[Urbino237]

@theinkmonitor To see one of my all-time favourite photos of Louis, go to the enormous archive, on Google, of the Google/Life (magazine) photo collection and type in his name. Eventually what comes up is a pic that can only make one smile, a b&w in a 1950s (?) summer where he is grinning ear-to-ear with a group of young black girls ages 10-14, one of whom (to Louis' right) appears to be singing something. Like his 1947 concert, what I would have given to be there. (..more in next post.)

[Urbino237]

@theinkmonitor ...there in that everyday-scene is one of music's most towering figures, out for his daily summer stroll in the neighbourhood, and he stops to engage with these girls. That photo reveals his humility, humanity and joie-de-vivre, all of which (with a rare combination of other factors) comes through loud and clear in his music. Of other 'greats' in the world, I wonder whom else mingled so (obviously) comfortably with the "common folk" - Louis' valued and treasured origins.