Aside from being a very joyous song the African Jazz song Satchmo Okuka Lokolé provides inadvertently part of the soundtrack to some somber passages in Congolese history books. On October 28th 1960 Louis Armstrong (Satchmo) and his All Stars band arrived in the newly independent Leopoldville as part of a African good-will-tour, organised by the US government. These trips with famous Afro-American performers were part of the propaganda war with Sovjet Union. Despite the turbulent political climate around the time in the Congo - war in Katanga province - the Congolese people gave 'Satchmo' a welcome he would never forget. From then on Satchmo was called 'Okuka Lokolé', as you can hear in this joyous tribute song Joseph Kabasele composed for him. After performing in Leopoldville, Armstrong and his All Stars played several weeks later in Elisabethville (Katanga). A day-long truce was called so that both sides could attend Armstrong’s performance. Armstrong later commented that he had stopped a civil war. The US based Penny Von Eschen states in her book 'Satchmo Blows Up the World: Jazz Ambassadors Play the Cold War' that "Armstrong did not know however that at the time of his visit to Léopoldville at the end of October and to Katanga in November Lumumba had been arrested and would later being held and tortured by Tshombe's army, with American (and Belgian, PI) assistance,".
"Sois-heureux Dieu t’aime tu arrives au pays des autres
notre pays au centre de l’Afrique nommé Congo
Armstrong e e e autre pays on vous appelle au nom Satchmo
Au Congo o o o nous t’ajoutons le nom Okuka Lokolé"
More info & lyrics: [ Ссылка ]
Lyrics thanks to Christian Ongoba & Henriette ta Belle-Sœur, merci beaucoup.
