Listening to a version of Just For a Thrill* I was somewhat surprised to find the music had actually been composed by Lil Hardin Armstrong - second wife of Louis Armstrong.
I knew, of course, that Lil Armstrong played piano with her husband's Hot Five and also King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band but I'd never thought of her as a composer and yet, Just For a Thrill is a tune worthy of any of the Tin Pan Alley tunesmiths.
Lyricist Don Raye certainly thought so as he added the words to what later became a hit for Ray Charles as well as other versions by the Ink Spots, Peggy Lee, Aretha Franklin, the Walker Brothers and her own band in 1936 where Lil took the vocal.
I find that Lil also composed one of Satchmo's most famous instrumentals - Struttin' With Some Barbecue.
The saying that behind every great man there's a woman may well be true here. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.
Lance
*Just For a Thrill Lil Hardin Armstrong, The First Lady of Jazz is also the title of a biography by James L. Dickerson.
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