Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong was the founding father of jazz and one of this century's towering cultural figures. The musical talents of Satchmo - as Armstrong became universally known - were prodigious and groundbreaking. After learning to blow his horn in the bordellos and honky-tonks of Storyville, New Orleans's bustling red-light district, he honed his sound on a Mississippi riverboat and later became a featured solo trumpeter in the nightclub bands of Chicago and New York, where his stunning musicianship, gravelly voice, and irrepressible personality captivated audiences and critics alike. Countless recordings, nonstop touring of America and Europe, a radio show - the first ever hosted by a black man - and film appearances catapulted him to international stardom, yet he always remained true to himself and loyal to his roots. Despite his successes, Armstrong's career was also marked by intense struggle - against the Depression, against the Chicago gangsters of the 1930s, and, above all, against racial prejudice.

First sentence: At the time of Louis Armstrong's birth, New Orleans, the most international, least American of cities, was a world apart-a blend of French, Spanish, Canadian, British, Caribbean, and African cultures, customs, languages, religions, and cuisines.

Year

1997

Language

English

Publisher

Broadway Books

Editions

3

Pages

592

ISBN

9780767901567

Data source: Wikidata