Song of the Day 12/17: Louis Armstrong w/ Benny Carter and his Orchestra, “Christmas Night in Harlem”

TRIGGER WARNING: When this was written by Raymond Scott in 1934, it was perfectly acceptable for white men to mock black society and call it comedy (this was shortly after the Harlem Renaissance was put to rest by the Depression). Some people will find the original by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, linked below, to be distasteful — I do myself. In fact I wouldn’t include this at all if Louis Armstrong hadn’t reclaimed it with his 1955 version, which cleaned up the offensive lyrics. “Black and tans feelin’ mighty good/In that old colored neighborhood” becomes “People all feelin’ might good/In that good old neighborhood,” for example.

The racist lyrics are less problematic than the comic scene-setting bits, full of stereotypically exaggerated black speech. If you don’t want to hear the racist lyrics, mute this version just to see the photos, especially a line-drawn Jazz Era “Night-Club Map of Harlem” at the 2:20 mark (places open all night have stars by their names). If you listen, you’ll hear Johnny Mercer on vocals and Jack Teagarden on trombone. You’ll also hear them “gwine” their way through some painful dialogue along with bandleader Whiteman, whose name shows that irony pops up even when you most expect it.