Previously Unseen Louis Armstrong Interview (1959)

"I do the same thing in Ghana, do it in Corona, 'cause she's with me."
On this day in 1971, Louis Armstrong suffered a fatal heart attack in his sleep while staying in the Queens neighbourhood of Corona in New York City. Aged 69, Armstrong had suffered a heart attack earlier in the year after playing a two-week engagement in the Empire Room of the Waldorf-Estoria in Manhattan, despite having been told not to by his doctor. Throughout his life, Armstrong had put his love of playing above his own health. His constant playing of the trumpet (or "the horn" as Louis called it) caused him long-term lip damage and, at the time of his death, the jazz legend was impatient to get out of recovery and back on the road.
Born in New Orleans and known by the affectionate nicknames of Satchmo, Satch, and Pops, Louis Armstrong is considered one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time. Best known for songs such as "What a Wonderful World", "Dream a Little Dream of Me", and "La Vie en Rose", Armstrong's music is immediately recognisable. In a career spanning five decades, Armstrong's distinctive voice and virtuosic trumpet playing earned him a level of popular acclaim that transcended the divisions of segregation-era America. Armstrong had for a long time drawn criticism from fellow African American artists and activists for his political quiescence on the issue of segregation and civil rights. His apparent neutrality on the subject afforded Armstrong a level of access to American high society that few other Black artists enjoyed. That all changed with his outspoken intervention in the Little Rock crisis in Arkansas, in which he attacked President Eisenhower and his government for being "two-faced" and having "no guts". Thereafter, Armstrong became a vocal supporter of the Civil Rights Movement.
On 27 February 1959, Louis Armstrong spoke to ITN's Peter Hopkirk upon arriving at London Airport. Armstrong fielded questions about his love of playing jazz around the world, from Ghana to Corona. "All of 'em is favourite spots... Every time I look around I got the horn in front of me, my public, and jammin' with the cats that I know."
#LouisArmstrong #Armstrong #Satch #Satchmo #Pops #StLouisBlues #DreamALittleDreamOfMe #WhatAWonderfulWorld #LaVieEnRose #WhenTheSaintsGoMarchingIn #MackTheKnife #Jazz #Jazzy #JazzBlues #NewOrleans #Corona #NewYorkCity #Queens #Manhattan #JazzLegend #JazzTrumpet #Blues #Swing
To license the footage featured in this clip, follow the link below:
www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/...
To search the ITN Archive collection on Getty Images, follow the link below:
www.gettyimages.co.uk/footage...
🎥 Subscribe to our UA-cam channel (tap the bell icon and stay up to date with all the latest ITN Archive videos!) - / @itnarchive
🎥 Follow us on Twitter - / itnarchive
🎥 Like us on Facebook - / itnarchiveitnp
🎥 Check out our TikTok - / itnarchive1955

[@rosadiaz6945]

Spectacular voice and person

[@PAPicturesOfficial]

Legendary singer and musician.

[@jemmajames6719]

What a lovely bloke, answering these silly questions it was if he was being interrogated!

[@roseappelhoff9282]

Sure enjoyed this video learning of Louis Armstrong's passion and dedication to his craft🥰

[@JazzFan76]

I think the pitch of this film was up a little too high.

[@eranswisa]

Stuped interviewers since the 40s ... what a morron questions

[@mynewyork165]

Did he have throat cancer?

[@roseappelhoff9282]

Maybe you have to research it.