In 1965 he sold out Lucerna here and ate dumplings, pork, zelo – G.cz
Jazz legend in Prague
Nowadays, it is quite common for some of the world’s stars from all possible regions to appear in the Czech Republic, but in 1965 this was not the case. This is one of the reasons why the world-famous jazz trumpet player and singer Louis Armstrong came to Czechoslovakia in March of that year. Full name Louis Daniel Armstrong arrived in the heart of Europe with his band All Stars to spend a total of 10 days there. Music journalist Lubomír Dorůžka became his guide to Prague and at the same time an interpreter.
At that time, Armstrong stopped in Prague as part of a tour of Eastern Europe and the Federal Republic of Germany, and our capital was its first and at the same time the longest stop in the entire musical stage. He therefore spent a quarter of his stay in Europe out of four weeks in concert. In addition to Germany and Czechoslovakia, he subsequently went to Romania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia. In 1965, however, he could not resist, and in the summer of the same year he came to Budapest, Hungary, where he performed at the local Népstadion for an incredible 91,000 enthusiastic spectators.
And what did the concert in Prague’s Lucerna look like? It was an extraordinary cultural and social event, which was then moderated by Jiří Suchý together with Jiří Šlitr. It is no wonder that domestic stars such as Karel Gott, Eva Pilarová and Karel Vlach also took part in the concert. They did not want to miss this unique experience. Armstrong was at the peak of his career at the time, as he was making a big musical comeback with the song Hi Dolly, which reigned in the US charts. It was such an extraordinary event that Supraphon even decided to release a single 6 years later with the consent of CBS International Louis Armstrong in Prague. Song captured his live performance in Lucerne. The entire recording of the concert was not released on LP until 1979.
In addition to the concert in Lucerna, Louis managed to enjoy, for example, the Semafor Theater or take a tour of St. Vitus Cathedral or the picture gallery at Prague Castle. At that time, all domestic media wrote about Armstrong, and every Praguer wanted to meet him on the street. There was even a TV documentary about him then called Hi, Satchmowhich can be viewed on YouTube.
Armstrong allegedly had dumplings, pork, venison in Prague, and his wife had a tailor-made dress made in one of Prague’s fashion salons.
From today’s point of view, it is striking that Louis Armstrong’s visit did not mind the communist regime. Given that the year was 1965 and Czechoslovakia did not support Western trends much, it is unbelievable. On the other hand, after a jazz legend, no one else in a similar format has looked at Czechoslovakia for a long time. In the 1950s, jazz was something that was inappropriate and undesirable for Czechoslovak culture. However, we know from memories that Louis Armstrong evaluated his visit to Czechoslovakia very positively and that he liked it very much. After all, he wouldn’t have stayed here that long.
Resources:
https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Armstrong
https://temata.rozhlas.cz/politika-stranou-jak-v-breznu-1965-louis-armstrong-okouzil-prahu-8161137