Louis Armstrong’s last great performance recorded live at the BBC in 1968.
Recorded live at the BBC on July 2, 1968 – just weeks after “What A Wonderful World” hit the #1 spot on the UK charts, later proving the UK’s biggest-selling single that year – Louis in London captures Armstrong in sparkling form.
From redefining jazz with his revolutionary trumpet playing to singlehandedly inventing popular singing, Louis Armstrong arguably made a greater impact on American popular music than any other single artist before or since. In July 1968, Armstrong and his renowned band, The All-Stars, travelled to England and entered the BBC’s London studios to record a performance, full of vitality and joy, that manifested some of the most inspired singing and trumpet playing of his remarkable career.
First broadcast on September 22, 1968, as BBC TV’s “Show Of The Week – Louis Armstrong,” the session poignantly proved to be Armstrong’s last great performance. From the moment Armstrong received a copy of the 1968 London recording, he became determined for the world to hear this music, affixed a note to the outside of the tape box on which he wrote, “For The Fans.” Armstrong sent copies of the BBC concert to friends and played them whenever he received visitors. Though he could have chosen any number of remarkable recordings, including his iconic collaborations with Ella Fitzgerald, he instead returned again and again to the BBC session from the summer of 1968.
Now, more than five decades since his passing, Louis in London will at long last be officially shared with the world.
Louis in London is part of MIJF’s Jazz on Film series, taking place at ACMI and Fed Square.
