518. We talk to Sam Irwin about his new book on jazz history. "Why did Louis
Armstrong choose the Fourth of July as his birthday? What did
Independence Day mean to southern Blacks in 1901? How did
jazzman Joe Darensbourg of Baton Rouge, the musician who played
clarinet on Louis Armstrong’s 1963 smash hit “Hello, Dolly,”
encounter not one, but two serial murderers in his long career?
The answers are found in Sam Irwin’s new book, The Hidden History of Louisiana’s Jazz Age. Autographed copies $24 plus
$3.49 media mail shipping rate in the U.S." SamIrwin.net
Armstrong choose the Fourth of July as his birthday? What did
Independence Day mean to southern Blacks in 1901? How did
jazzman Joe Darensbourg of Baton Rouge, the musician who played
clarinet on Louis Armstrong’s 1963 smash hit “Hello, Dolly,”
encounter not one, but two serial murderers in his long career?
The answers are found in Sam Irwin’s new book, The Hidden History of Louisiana’s Jazz Age. Autographed copies $24 plus
$3.49 media mail shipping rate in the U.S." SamIrwin.net
- This week in Louisiana history. April 21, 1804. Gov.
Laussat, last French Gov., leaves Louisiana. - This week in New Orleans history. Reverse Freedom Rides
April 21, 1962. The Reverse Freedom Rides of 1962 were a
deliberate parody of the Freedom Rides organized by the
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in the previous year. Also
called the Freedom Rides North, African American
"participants" in the Reverse Freedom Rides were offered free
one-way transportation and the promise of free housing and
guaranteed employment to Northern cities. George Singelmann of
the Greater New Orleans Citizens' Council orchestrated the
Reverse Freedom Rides, which served as the Citizens' Councils'
means of testing the sincerity of Northern liberals' quest for
equality for African Americans. This attempt to embarrass
Northern critics of the Citizens' Councils was a way of, in
Singelmann's words, "telling the North to put up or shut up."
Public outcry against the Reverse Freedom Rides was swift and
direct, with groups such as the Urban League of Greater New
Orleans leading the chorus of disapproval. WDSU Radio released
a statement in April 1962,that typifies the response: "WDSU
believes the Freedom Bus North movement is sick sensationalism
bordering on moronic."
- This week in Louisiana.
Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival
May 5-7, 2023
Parc Hardy
Breaux Bridge, LA
Website
The Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival, held the first full
weekend in May, provides the perfect opportunity to witness
over 30 Cajun and Creole bands over three days, coupled with
the delicious crustacean, the crawfish. Sample crawfish dishes
prepared every way imaginable–fried, boiled, étouffée, bisque,
boudin, pie, jambalaya and crawdogs–along with other Cajun and
Creole favorites. The Crawfish Festival also hosts a parade,
crawfish eating contest, Cajun and Zydeco dance contest,
crawfish étouffée cook-off, crawfish race, and carnival rides
for young and old alike, as well as an arts and crafts fair.
- Postcards from Louisiana. The Original Dixieland Jass Band.
1917.
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