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Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life
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.
Book Details
- Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
- Publish Date: Jun 1st, 1998
- Pages: 564
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 8.40in - 5.50in - 1.40in - 1.65lb
- EAN: 9780767901567
- Categories: • Music• Cultural & Regional• Genres & Styles - Jazz
About the Author
Laurence Bergreen was born in New York City and educated at Harvard University. He is the author of As Thousands Cheer: The Life of Irving Berlin (winner of the Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award); James Agee: A Life; and Capone: The Man and the Era. A frequent contributor to Esquire, Newsweek, the New York Times, and other publications, he lives in New York City with his family.
Praise for this book
"Bergreen writes with genuine love and respect for Armstrong's art....This is likely to be the standard biography of Armstrong for some time."
--Washington Post "A full-bodied portrait of the artist and the man that is far more interesting than his already colorful legend."
--USA Today "No one has done a better job than Bergreen of making emotional sense of Armstrong's four marriages and uncounted affairs. . . . The fullest and frankest account of Armstrong to date."
--Boston Sunday Globe "A meticulously researched, vibrant biography, which has the potential to become the definitive word on Armstrong's life and remarkable career."
--Variety
--Washington Post "A full-bodied portrait of the artist and the man that is far more interesting than his already colorful legend."
--USA Today "No one has done a better job than Bergreen of making emotional sense of Armstrong's four marriages and uncounted affairs. . . . The fullest and frankest account of Armstrong to date."
--Boston Sunday Globe "A meticulously researched, vibrant biography, which has the potential to become the definitive word on Armstrong's life and remarkable career."
--Variety