Search - Louis Armstrong :: Hello Dolly

OK, some jazz fans may tell you you're not supposed to like this--that Satchmo somehow "perverted" his talent and went commercial here--but then maybe some jazz fans just don't have a sense of fun. Hello, Dolly was a true musical phenomenon--and it introduced a whole new generation (who'd missed his 40-year heyday) to the joys of Louis Armstrong. In fact, Armstrong's single helped save the Broadway show, which had been predicted to be a huge flop... until the banjo and trumpet-driven single came out of nowhere--smack dab in the middle of Beatlemania-- and became a smash hit. The inevitable album that followed then knocked The Beatles' Second Album out of its No. 1 spot, remaining there for six weeks. The rest of the LP includes his mirthful takes on some pop standards ("Jeepers Creepers") as well as tunes from other Broadway shows--Funny Girl and Bye Bye Birdie, among them. Armstrong coasted on the strength of this one LP the rest of the decade until his death in 1971. --Bill Holdship