Farewell, Satchmo

50 years ago today, on Tuesday, July 6, 1971, the great jazz trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong died. He was 69.

The last thing he ever recorded was a charming spoken-word rendition of “The Night Before Christmas.” He did so on Friday, Feb. 26, 1971, in the den of his home at 34-56 107th Street in Corona, Queens, New York.

It’s one of our favorites. We share it here on Christmas Eve every year.

“But I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight,

‘Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night. A very good night.’

“And that goes for Satchmo, too. (Laughs softly.) Thank you.”