Died On This Date (August 27, 1971) Lil Armstrong / Jazz Great; Wife Of Louis Armstrong
themusicsover Lil Hardin-Armstrong
February 3, 1898 – August 27, 1971
Lil Hardin was an accomplished jazz pianist, singer, bandleader and prolific composer. She was also Louis Armstrong’s second wife. As a composer, she can count the following standards as her own, “Don’t Jive Me,” “Struttin’ With Some Barbecue,” “Just For A Thrill,” and “Bad Boy.” The latter two becoming hits for Ray Charles and Ringo Starr, respectively. Hardin performed and recorded well into the ’60s with many of jazz’s greatest names. When Louis Armstrong passed away in July of 1971, Hardin was devastated. Even though they had been divorced, Hardin took part in the funeral as if she were still family. Roughly six weeks later, while performing at a televised memorial to Armstrong, Lil Hardin collapsed at the piano and died later that evening. She was 73 years old.
Joe Maneri was jazz saxophonist and clarinetist who came to some prominence during the ’90s. He specialized in taking traditional ethnic folk elements and embellishing them with his own avant garde free-form jazz. He has been compared to Ornette Coleman and 
David Rose was a songwriter and composer best known for writing “The Stripper.” Throughout his career, Rose wrote music for such television programs as Bonanza, the Red Skelton Show and Little House On The Prairie. His television work earned him four Emmys. He had a three-year marriage to singer Martha Raye and later, another three-year marriage to 
