The Strip
Here are a couple of clips from a film Armstrong made together with Mickey Rooney in 1950 - "The Strip." Rooney later described the film as "a low budget musical with a low budget story." Here's a performance of Shadrack:
"Shadrack" was first recorded by Armstrong in June 1938. The film documents one of the earliest incarnations of the All-Stars: Cozy Cole, Barney Bigard, Jack Teagarden and Earl Hines. Hines first worked with Armstrong in 1926 and was included on several of the Hot Five recordings.
According to Rooney, the film cost $885,000 to make and earned back just a bit more. Here's another scene featuring Rooney on drums - who is dubbed by Cozy Cole:
Before joing the All Stars, Cole played in the late 1930s and early 40s with the Cab Calloway band.
The big hit song from the film was "Kiss to Build a Dream On" which is performed three times in the film, including once by Armstrong. The song was written by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby and Oscar Hammersten II for the Marx Brothers film "A Night at the Opera." It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song after its use in "The Strip." It then became a staple of Armstrong and the All Stars. Here's a clip of a performance of the song by the All Stars in 1959 in Denmark:
This line up of the All Stars includes Trummy Young on trombone, Danny Barcelona on drums and Billy Kyle on piano. Armstrong also recorded "Ain't Misbehavin'" for the film - but the performance was not included in the finished picture. This was a song that had vaulted Armstrong into popular acclaim in the late 1920s when he performed it as part of the revue "Connie's Hot Chocolates." If you want to get a sense of the genius of Armstrong as a jazz vocalist, compare Armstrong's early version of this song with Fats' own. Here's Fats performing the number in "Stormy Weather." The drummer is Zutty Singleton who played with Armstrong on Fate Marable's riverboat band and recorded with Armstrong on several of the Hot Five numbers:
"Shadrack" was first recorded by Armstrong in June 1938. The film documents one of the earliest incarnations of the All-Stars: Cozy Cole, Barney Bigard, Jack Teagarden and Earl Hines. Hines first worked with Armstrong in 1926 and was included on several of the Hot Five recordings.
According to Rooney, the film cost $885,000 to make and earned back just a bit more. Here's another scene featuring Rooney on drums - who is dubbed by Cozy Cole:
Before joing the All Stars, Cole played in the late 1930s and early 40s with the Cab Calloway band.
The big hit song from the film was "Kiss to Build a Dream On" which is performed three times in the film, including once by Armstrong. The song was written by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby and Oscar Hammersten II for the Marx Brothers film "A Night at the Opera." It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song after its use in "The Strip." It then became a staple of Armstrong and the All Stars. Here's a clip of a performance of the song by the All Stars in 1959 in Denmark:
This line up of the All Stars includes Trummy Young on trombone, Danny Barcelona on drums and Billy Kyle on piano. Armstrong also recorded "Ain't Misbehavin'" for the film - but the performance was not included in the finished picture. This was a song that had vaulted Armstrong into popular acclaim in the late 1920s when he performed it as part of the revue "Connie's Hot Chocolates." If you want to get a sense of the genius of Armstrong as a jazz vocalist, compare Armstrong's early version of this song with Fats' own. Here's Fats performing the number in "Stormy Weather." The drummer is Zutty Singleton who played with Armstrong on Fate Marable's riverboat band and recorded with Armstrong on several of the Hot Five numbers:
posted by Whistling Dixie at 5:22 AM
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