FRANKFURT — Louis (Satchmo) Armstrong blew into town here Monday, all hot to trot onto Berlin where he plans to entertain troops and tape some TV acts for the Ed Sullivan Show.

Satchmo was accompanied here by his wife, his manager, his band, soprano Roberta Peters and TV comic Bob Lewis.

"Gonna be great to get back to Berlin and some of that eisbeinund sauerkraut," Armstrong told German reporters. — Then, turning to an American newsman, he explained, "That's pig's knuckles and sauerkraut, man, and I just love it."

While he hasn't any immediate plans to tour behind the Iron Curtain, Armstrong said that he would "just love to perform in East Berlin and Moscow, too."

"Last time I was in Berlin, I hear they sneaked across the border to see me. Fella came up after the show and said he had to go underground to see it, and he wasn't sure how he would get back. Guess now they might have to climb over the wall," Satchmo said.

In answer to a newsman's query, Satchmo said that he would visit the West Berlin border only if it would do anybody any good.

Still looking hale and hearty, the 61-year-old, gravel-voiced Armstrong showed no signs of aging or slowing down.

"Musicians don't retire; they just quit when there ain't no more jobs," he explained, adding that he was booked solid for New York and Mexico City.

Discounting anything unusual about an opera singer and a jazz man traveling in the same circles, Armstrong explained that "most of jazz comes from opera."

"Shucks, I throw a spot of the Intermezzo from 'Cavalleria Rusticana' into my act every time I get room for it," he said. Miss Peters, who is scheduled to sing the Laughing Song from "Die Fledermaus" on her Berlin tour, did not know whether Ed Sullivan will have her do a piece with Louis Armstrong.

"I don't know if I can jazz it up, but I'll try," she said.

Asked how she keeps trim and still manages to hit all the high notes expected of an opera star, Miss Peters explained, "You don't need all the spaghetti they say you need to hold those notes."

Added Satchmo, "You could hold a note on good wholesome food. I like red beans and rice with fried chicken myself."

2025