Joe Delaney remembers 1963: Satchmo at the Riviera

Friday, Oct. 6, 2000 | 9:03 a.m.

Trumpeter Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong and his All-Stars were the Riviera Versailles Room headliners. Armstrong, one of the most powerful influences on popular music vocally and instrumentally, continued to headline in Las Vegas until his death in July 1971. His last engagement was at the Tropicana in January of that year. Jane Russell, Connie Haines and Beryl Davis were really co-star openers, each successful in various entertainment media. Note that it was also closing night for Liberace and Barbra Streisand, making her Las Vegas debut. She next headlined at the International (later named the Las Vegas Hilton) for Kirk Kerkorian, and twice for him in the 1990s at the MGM Grand.

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