Box Sets #22 Louis Armstrong - The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings

Believe it or not, it took me all of six decades to come to appreciate the genius of Louis Armstrong. Growing up, I regularly saw him on TV acting the fool for the white folks who of course dominated the screen. The only "coloureds" we saw (and I use language which was considered acceptable in those days) were usually good natured, but not very bright servants of white American families. Then of course we in Britain had 'The Black & White Minstrel Show'. Yeuk! 

Armstrong was of course playing a stereotypical part. He was above all a showman and he knew exactly what he was doing. Having come from a very poor New Orleans background, he had learned at an early age to do whatever it took to get his music heard. However it left me cold and as a consequence I missed out on the great music he had made. My own views were confirmed when I read that Miles Davis, the ultimate angry young black man, abhorred the grinning 'Uncle Tom' character adopted by Armstrong to appease white audiences.

However, I later read a comment Davis made about the playing of Louis Armstrong. It is worth reproducing in full here:
"You can't play nothing on modern trumpet that doesn't come from him, not even modern shit. I can't even remember a time when he sounded bad playing the trumpet. Never. Not even one time. He had great feeling up on his playing and he always played on the beat. I just loved the way he played and sang".

If Armstrong impressed Miles Davis, then maybe it was time for me to reappraise my view of Satchmo.

People who are far more knowledgeable about jazz music than me, told me that I could do no better than to hear the 1920's recordings that have become known simply as the Hot Fives and Hot Sevens. I didn't need too much persuasion as I had already become infatuated with 1920's and 1930's blues and I was already familiar with Bessie Smith's 1925 Columbia recordings that featured a 23 year old Louis Armstrong on cornet.

The problem was in what format to get hold of the Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings. Since their original release as sides of 78 RPM discs, they have been in circulation in numerous formats but not always particularly well presented - and in some cases even at the incorrect speed or with incorrect titles. Most reviews indicated that the definitive collection was 'The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings' released on Columbia Legacy in 2000. However new copies of this 4 CD package are expensive (currently just under £100 on Amazon).

I was delighted therefore to discover a pristine copy in a local charity shop priced at under £15. And what an absolute gem it is.

A card slipcase houses a very good quality book which contains the four CD's inside the front and back covers. The book itself is a joy with some great contemporary photographs of New Orleans and Chicago (where the recordings were made). There are also commentaries on the musical content of all four discs as well as information on the musicians involved.  

For me, the most interesting feature of these recordings is that this music is not typical of what Armstrong was playing at that time. He was then a member of the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra who were appearing in Chicago nightclubs playing show tunes and other popular songs of the time. It was only because Okeh Records had recognised the demand for black music through the incredible success of Mamie Smith's 'Crazy Blues', that they began issuing what were termed "race recordings". In other words music produced by black singers and musicians for a predominantly black audience. As an up and coming black musician, Armstrong was contracted with Okeh to produce such recordings.

So, the music we hear on these four discs are what Armstrong and his colleagues produced in just 22 days spread between November 1925 and May 1929. Had it not been for this segregation of black artists to produce purely Negro music, the sessions we now refer to as the Hot Fives and Hot Sevens, would never have taken place. These musicians were put together purely to make records, not for live public performances. A sobering thought! 

Another interesting fact is that the music played harked back to the type of New Orleans jazz that had been popular about 10 years earlier. Things had moved on somewhat in the musical taste of the jazz listening public, yet despite this, Armstrong succeeded in setting a benchmark for the future of jazz. Indeed it has been claimed on numerous occasions that this body of work changed the field of jazz music forever. It is no exaggeration to say that the music included in this package has influenced everything that has happened since.

Not only does this set contain the complete recordings of the actual Hot Five and Hot Seven, but also all Armstrong related combo recordings that were released by Okeh, plus bonus tracks under the name of Lil's Hot Shots (Lil Hardin being the pianist with the Hot Five and also at that time, Armstrong's wife). Finally there are also recordings under the name of clarinetist Johnny Dodds that were made with Armstrong in April 1927 and which became the prototype for the Hot Seven recordings that would take place only two weeks later. 

A pretty comprehensive package, I think you will agree.

The Mysterious Origins of Keep a Knockin'

I have written on previous occasions about recent or contemporary musical artists "borrowing" or "stealing" songs from the past and claiming them as their own. Another example came to light for me during the course of this past week.


I was listening to Volume 2 of 'The Rise & Fall of Paramount Records' and came across the track 'Keep a Knockin' an' You Can't Come In' by James "Boodle It" Wiggins. You can hear it for yourself by clicking here. What immediately struck me was the similarity between that track and 'Keep a Knockin'' by Little Richard which you can listen to here.

I checked Little Richard's 1957 recording and found it credited to Penniman (Richard's given name), Williams and Mays though the version I have by Fleetwood Mac on 'Live in Boston' is simply credited to Richard Penniman.

So who actually wrote the song?

Well, as is so often the case in the blues genre, the answer is unclear. Some claim that the song was written by J Mayo Williams (possibly the Williams referred to on the Little Richard recording). He was a talent scout for Paramount Records and gained the nickname "Ink" owing to his ability to get artists to sign or make their mark on Paramount contracts through fair means or foul (he was known to ply suitable candidates with drink to cajole them into signing). There are also stories that suggest that he claimed writing credits for a number of songs yet I have no evidence that he was actually a musician or songwriter, in fact he had previously been a professional NFL football player.

According to the liner notes from the album 'Stomp 'em Down; Piano Blues 1927-1937' (Black Snake Records, 1970), the song had its origins in New Orleans, not in blues, but in jazz under the title 'Bucket's Got a Hole in It'. This was recorded by a host of jazz artists including Louis Armstrong. You can watch Satchmo performing it live in 1962 by clicking here and you will clearly hear that the second verse begins with the line "You keep a knockin' but you can't come in'.

How Little Richard came to claim the song as his own is therefore yet another mystery in the world of music copyright. Yet it has proved to be extremely successful gaining Richard a number 8 hit and being covered by artists including the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Mississippi John Hurt, Mott The Hoople, The Blasters and the Flaming Groovies.

Regarding "Boodle It" Wiggins, unfortunately little is known. He was born in Louisiana (date unknown) and recorded with Paramount between 1928 and 1929. The track referred to was recorded in Chicago in February 1928 with Bob Call on piano and Wiggins on vocals and kazoo. His final recordings were made in October 1929 with Blind Leroy Garnett replacing Bob Call on piano and he died either later that year or the following year.

Incidentally if you happen to own a good quality copy of Wiggins' Paramount 78 RPM recording, you have yourself a disc worth up to $1500.

Get searching in those attics and basements.