I know I just posted a remix of When You Wish Upon a Star last week and it is my practice to post only one cover of a song per month, but this is an exception. Today is When You Wish Upon a Star Friday so I have to post this cover, but it is quite different than last week's.
This cover is off LOUIS ARMSTRONG'S 1968 tribute album DISNEY SONGS THE SATCHMO WAY.
In 2000, The Manhattan Transfer released their own cover of this song on a Louis Armstong tribute album called THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS. In an interview Manhattan Transfer member Janis Siegel seemed to think that When You Wish Upon a Star is one of Louis' greatest hits.
The first task was digging into Armstrong's extensive catalog as a spotlight artist, spanning from his mid-1920's recordings with the small Hot Fives and Hot Sevens ensembles, up to his death in 1971. "We wanted to include a couple songs that are really associated with Armstrong," says Siegel, "ones someone on the street would name if you went up to them and said, 'Name two Louie Armstrong tunes!'" From that column, the quartet chose A Kiss To Build A Dream On and When You Wish Upon A Star.While I think Louis' version is a great one, I don't think it would be the first one that most people would say if asked to name two Satchmo songs.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Have a great weekend.
 | When You Wish Upon a Star Louis Armstrong 1968   |
2 comments:
I tried to compensate for age -- maybe there WAS a time, a short-lived era, in which Satchmo was known for his remake of this song? No dice, though; by then, he had certainly become known for a bunch of songs, and most have stood the test of time far better.
In the end, I agree completely -- wonder what the Manhattan Transfer folks were thinking/smoking?
That is certainly a song from the legendary Louis Armstrong that will grow on me, like his early jazz works, as well as the obvious tracks people remember him for.
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