Legacy Recordings

Six versions of “Mack The Knife” made the charts in 1956, but this one is a vivid illustration of Louis Armstrong’s ability to stamp his personality on any material that caught his fancy. The mid-’50s were prolific years for Armstrong, resulting in some of his best-loved records, such as his album of W.C. Handy compositions for Columbia and his Verve duets with Ella Fitzgerald. In the fall of 1955 he recorded “Mack The Knife” at the suggestion of Columbia jazz A&R man George Avakian; it would be his biggest hit until he knocked the Beatles off the top of the charts in 1964 with “Hello Dolly.”

Listen to “Mack The Knife” by Louis Armstrong on Rhapsody
or Buy the CD at LegacyRecordings.com.