Artist:Louis Armstrong and Oscar Peterson
Song:Makin' Whoopee
Album:Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson
Back in the 50s, Oscar Peterson led the Verve Records house band. So he recorded with anyone who walked into the studio. This 1957 album is the only time Peterson recorded as a duo with Louis Armstrong. But it wasn't the first time they were on the same album. Peterson and his band appeared on the 1956 album Ella and Louis. This was the first album featuring Armstrong recording as a duo with Ella Fitzgerald. Peterson also appeared on the 1957 album Ella and Louis Again. And it was at these sessions that Verve owner Norman Granz decided to record Armstrong and Peterson as a duo. For the most part this album features Armstrong's singing. He plays trumpet on half the album. So I recommend this album to fans of Armstrong's singing. The musicians are Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass and Louis Bellson on drums. They also played on Ella and Louis Again and many Verve recordings. Makin' Whoopie was written by Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn and popularized by Eddie Cantor in 1928. Makin' Whoopee did not appear on the original 1957 album. When Verve released this album on CD in 1997, it was one of four bonus tracks. It was reissued in 2020 with a new cover. It didn't need a new cover but that is the version that is available. Peterson has also recorded Makin' Whoopee with Ben Webster, Stephane Grappelli and Clark Terry. There are clips of Peterson performing with those three guys. So I might do those in the future. There are no live clips of Peterson and Armstrong. I don't think they ever performed live together. Here's a video of Makin' Whoopie by Louis Armstrong and Oscar Peterson.
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