muskrat ramble heebie jeebies

Louis Armstrong And His Hot Five cranked out six songs in a single session that transformed jazz as Satchmo sang vocals for the first time and scatted his way even deeper into our hearts. This supergroup only really existed in the studio; but that only cemented its influence. They only played live twice at parties for OKeh Records.








http://www.louisarmstronghouse.org/

http://www.louisarmstrongfoundation.org

'Georgia Grind' was written by Spencer Williams and features vocals by Lil and Louis.

"I can shake it east, I can shake it west, but way down south I can shake it best."

'Heebie Jeebies' was written by Boyd Atkins. It is often cited as the first example of scat singing, but Gene Greene first recorded scat in his song 'King of the Bungaloos' fifteen years earlier. This rendition was so good, it was the B-side for two singles: 'Georgia Grind' and 'Muskrat Ramble'; and it inspired a whole new generation of jazz singers.  Armstrong maintained that he scatted because he had dropped the sheet music and didn't want to waste the tape:    “When I dropped the paper, I immediately turned into the horn and started to scatting. Just as nothing had happened. When I finished the record I just knew the recording people would throw it out. And to my surprise they all came running out of the controlling booth and said ‘Leave that in.’ My, my, I gave a big sigh of relief. And sure enough – they did publish “Heebie Jeebies” the same way it was mistakenly recorded” 

'Cornet Chop Suey' was written by Louis Armstrong. The band makes nice use of stop timing.

'Oriental Strut' was written by Johnny St. Cyr.

'You're Next' was another Armstrong composition.






The music for 'Muskrat Ramble' was written by Kid Ory. The interplay between his trombone and Armstrong's cornet is legendary. It was the band's first hit.