Sinatra has his "Love and Marriage", and sure enough, the ambassador of jazz, Louis Armstrong, recorded a duffer in 1952. Charted at #28, but tellingly, only spent one week on the chart: "Takes Two to Tango". Just a very ill-advised piece of novelty piffle. It's on an otherwise very nicely compiled MCA from 1994. Love the sound of those old MCA's. So programming button it is, if I want to keep this one.
So, what do you think? Can we name other rare duffers by great names?
Even Louis Armstrong recorded a duffer
- GoogaMooga
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Even Louis Armstrong recorded a duffer
"When the desert comes, people will be sad; just as Cannery Row was sad when all the pilchards were caught and canned and eaten." - John Steinbeck
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Re: Even Louis Armstrong recorded a duffer
Well, I'm keeping the MCA anyway, it's very well annotated, with rare ephemera, and many of the tracks are the original Decca singles, which constitute his greatest work, the summation of a lifetime in music.
"When the desert comes, people will be sad; just as Cannery Row was sad when all the pilchards were caught and canned and eaten." - John Steinbeck
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Re: Even Louis Armstrong recorded a duffer
What a Wonderful World - Hello Dolly - Mack the Knife - La Vie en Rose - When It's Sleepy Time Down South - the list goes on and on, all his good stuff on one handy CD... plus the novelty song.
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Re: Even Louis Armstrong recorded a duffer
I think it's charming, but it would make more sense if it was done to something closer to a tango rhythm, like Ray Charles and Betty Carter did it.
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Re: Even Louis Armstrong recorded a duffer
Charlie O. wrote:I think it's charming, but it would make more sense if it was done to something closer to a tango rhythm, like Ray Charles and Betty Carter did it.
Yeah, I think that would help. Pearl Bailey had the first hit with it, also in 1952. Haven't heard her version, but Louis Amstrong is just too coy, even if he is tongue in cheek.
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Re: Even Louis Armstrong recorded a duffer
His best stuff are the Hot Fives and Sevens recordings.
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Re: Even Louis Armstrong recorded a duffer
Matt Wilson wrote:His best stuff are the Hot Fives and Sevens recordings.
Those, too. In fact I lean towards the H5 and 7, but there appears to be some kind of consensus that those Decca singles are his best work. I guess it depends on what you are looking for.
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Re: Even Louis Armstrong recorded a duffer
Matt Wilson wrote:His best stuff are the Hot Fives and Sevens recordings.
They are wonderful recordings, no doubt. There are gems though throughout his career - 'Plays W. C. Hardy' (1954) is superb, and has been my go to Armstrong recording for the last four years, i.e. since I bought it. Satchmo at Symphony Hall (1947) is another joy - and joy is exactly the right word.