Cheesecake - Louis Armstrong

Cheesecake - Louis Armstrong

2:29

Louis, 1966

Written by Louis Armstrong and Irving Fields

This novelty song has similar vibes (though nothing in the melody) to Cab Calloway's "Keep That Coffee Hot."  It's got, in addition to Armstrong's wonderful trumpet, clarinet, piano, and banjo, giving it a bouncy down-home feel.  Armstrong sings and scats with abandon; it's probable that he meant this title as a sort of winking joke, "cheesecake" being a term for risqué depictions of the female body.  Gobble gobble!

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah - Louis Armstrong

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah - Louis Armstrong

2:22

Disney Songs the Satchmo Way, 1968

Written by Ray Gilbert & Allie Wrubel

This album marks the last recordings of Armstrong on trumpet.  Apparently, Walt Disney himself requested that Satchmo record this album, and he did, even though he was in ill health.  (Sad to think how just four short years before he was at the top of the charts with the perfect album Hello, Dolly!.)  You wouldn't know he was ailing, however, from listening to this song or its album.  His joyful vocals and bright trumpet make this already Oscar-winning song lively and fun.