Music Pick: Louis Armstrong

August 4, 1901, and not July 4, 1900, is the real birth date of Louis "Pops" Armstrong. He spent his entire career wrapping himself into an iconic 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' and it stuck till a diligent researcher unearthed his Aug. 4, 1901, birth certificate long after Pops' July 5, 1971 death. To celebrate the birth of this musical modernist, West End Blues, from June 28..., 1928, is the feature. . After finishing their gig at Chicago's Lincoln Gardens, Louis and his Hot Five consisting of Earl Hines, piano, Fred Robinson, trombone, Jimmy Strong, clarinet, Mancy Carr, banjo and Zutty Singleton, drums, headed for the Okey Studios and laid down this track for a measly fifty bucks and no royalties, standard fare for exploited, scuffling jazz musicians during the twenties. There is something magisterial about their conception of this King Oliver tune that transcends even great recordings. Many have tried to duplicate Pops' opening intro in the last 86 years but they've all come up short.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eEVHfrrj7o