An incredible, charismatic personality, composer, singer and actor, Louis Armstrong remains one of the most influential figures in jazz. His influence on the development of jazz is almost impossible to measure. Billie Holiday said she always wanted to have the big sound of Bessie Smith and the feeling of Armstrong in her singing. This "Golden Classics" compilation includes some of her best recordings, all carefully remastered: "La Vie en rose", "C'est si bon", "You Rascal You", "Dream a Little Dream of Me" and the George Gershwin standard "Summertime", both performed by the delightful Ella Fitzgerald.

In a 1971 interview with DownBeat magazine, Duke Ellington said: "If anyone was a master, it was Louis Armstrong. He was and will remain the embodiment of jazz." Louis Armstrong was later inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a pioneer.