Gold (2006)

About this title: Annotator Bob Porter begins his liner notes to Hip-O Records' Louis Armstrong compilation Gold by citing a chart statistic: Leadoff track "What a Wonderful World" became a Top 40 hit in 1988, 20 years after it was recorded, due to its inclusion in the movie Good Morning, Vietnam. That is a clue to the approach that the collection takes -- this is a hits-oriented album concerned more with Louis Armstrong the pop star of the '50s and '60s than Louis Armstrong the jazz musician of the '20s and '30s. In part, that focus is nearly forced on Hip-O, the reissue imprint of major label Universal. ... read more

Tracks:

1. What a Wonderful World [Weiss/Thiele]
2. Cabaret [Ebb/Kander]
3. Dream a Little Dream of Me [Schwant/Andre/Kahn]
4. Mame [Herman]
5. Solitude [DeLange/Mills/Ellin]
6. Hello Dolly [Herman]
7. You Go to My Head [Coots/Gillespie]
8. I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues [Arlen/Koehler]
9. A Fine Romance [Kern/Fields]
10. Georgia on My Mind [Carmichael/Gorrell]
11. When You're Smiling (The Whole World Smiles with You) [Fisher/Goodwin/Shay]
12. On the Sunny Side of the Street [Fields/McHugh]
13. Mack the Knife [Brecht/Weill]
14. Rockin' Chair [Live] [Carmichael]
15. Basin Street Blues [Williams]
16. Someday (You'll Be Sorry) [Armstrong]
17. It Takes Two to Tango [Hoffman/Manning]
18. A Kiss to Build a Dream On [Kalmar/Ruby/Hammers]
19. Gone Fishin' [Kenny/Kenny]
20. (I'll Be Glad When You're Dead) You Rascal You [Theard]
21. La Vie en Rose [David/Louiguy/Piaf]
22. My Sweet Hunk O' Trash [Johnson/Miller]
23. Blueberry Hill [Lewis/Stock/Rose]
24. (What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue [Live] [Brooks/Razaf/Waller]
25. Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans? [DeLange/Alter]
26. I Wonder [Gant/Leveen]
27. When It's Sleepy Time Down South [Rene/Rene/Muse]
28. I'm Confessin' (That I Love You) [Neiburg/Doc Dougher]
29. Ain't Misbehavin' [Razaf/Waller/Brooks]
30. When the Saints Go Marching In [Traditional]
31. Struttin' with Some Barbeque [Armstrong/Armstrong]
32. Swing That Music [Gerlach/Armstrong]
33. Old Man Mose [Glaser/Armstrong]
34. I'm in the Mood for Love [Fields/McHugh]
35. St. Louis Blues [Handy]
36. Lazy River [Arodin/Carmichael]
37. West End Blues [Williams/Oliver]
38. Potato Head Blues [Armstrong]
39. Wild Man Blues [Armstrong/Morton]
40. Heebie Jeebies [Atkins]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.