Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong, my forthcoming biography, includes an appendix of thirty “key recordings” by Armstrong, all of which figure prominently in the text of the book and can be downloaded from iTunes. Here’s the list:
1. “Chimes Blues” (Gennett, 1923, with King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band)
2. “Texas Moaner Blues” (OKeh, 1924, with Sidney Bechet
and Clarence Williams’ Blue Five)
3. “St. Louis Blues” (Columbia, 1925, with Bessie Smith)
4. “Heebie Jeebies” (OKeh, 1926, with the Hot Five)
5. “Cornet Chop Suey” (OKeh, 1926, with the Hot Five)
6. “Potato Head Blues” (OKeh, 1927, with the Hot Seven)
7. “Hotter Than That” (OKeh, 1927, with Lonnie Johnson and the Hot Five)
8. “West End Blues” (OKeh, 1928, with Earl Hines and the Hot Five)
9. “Weather Bird” (OKeh, 1928, with Earl Hines)
10. “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love” (OKeh, 1929)
11. “Ain’t Misbehavin'” (OKeh, 1929)
12. “Sweethearts on Parade” (OKeh, 1930)
13. “Star Dust” (OKeh, 1931, first take)
14. “I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues” (Victor, 1933)
15. “Darling Nelly Gray” (Decca, 1937, with the Mills Brothers)
16. “Jubilee” (Decca, 1938)
17. “Struttin’ With Some Barbecue” (Decca, 1938)
18. “Jeepers Creepers” (Decca, 1939, with Sid Catlett)
19. “Sleepy Time Down South” (Decca, 1941)
20. “Snafu” (Victor, 1946, with the Esquire All-American 1946 Award Winners)
21. “Back o’ Town Blues” (Victor, 1947, with Jack Teagarden, Bobby Hackett, and Sid Catlett, recorded live at New York’s Town Hall)
22. “Blueberry Hill” (Decca, 1949)
23. “New Orleans Function” (Decca, 1950, with Earl Hines, Jack Teagarden, and the All Stars)
24. “You Rascal You” (Decca, 1950, with Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five)
25. “Mack the Knife” (Columbia, 1955, with the All Stars)
26. “King of the Zulus” (Decca, 1957, with the All Stars, from Satchmo: A Musical Autobiography)
27. “How Long Has This Been Going On?” (Verve, 1957, with the Oscar Peterson Trio, from Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson)
28. “Black and Tan Fantasy” (Impulse, 1961, with Duke Ellington and the All Stars, from Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington)
29. “Summer Song” (Columbia, 1961, with Dave Brubeck, from The Real Ambassadors)
30. “Hello, Dolly!” (Kapp, 1963, with the All Stars)