Status
Available
Publication
Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009.
Description
Louis Armstrong was the greatest jazz musician of the twentieth century and a giant of modern American culture. Offstage he was witty, introspective and unexpectedly complex, a beloved colleague with an explosive temper whose larger-than-life personality was tougher and more sharp-edged than his worshipping fans ever knew. Wall Street Journal arts columnist Terry Teachout has drawn on new sources unavailable to previous biographers, including hundreds of private recordings of backstage and after-hours conversations, to craft a sweeping new narrative biography of this towering figure that shares, for the first time, full, accurate versions of such storied events as Armstrong's quarrel with President Eisenhower and his decision to break up his big band.--From publisher description.… (more)
Media reviews
With “Pops,” his eloquent and important new biography of Armstrong, the critic and cultural historian Terry Teachout restores this jazzman to his deserved place in the pantheon of American artists, building upon Gary Giddins’s excellent 1988 study, “Satchmo: The Genius of Louis
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Armstrong,” and offering a stern rebuttal of James Lincoln Collier’s patronizing 1983 book, “Louis Armstrong: An American Genius.” Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member lauranav
This is a very good biography, pulling together the old and new resources, including interviews, tapes, and recordings to provide a full picture of the man and his music. The book covers his life from his poor and rough start in New Orleans to his final years in Queens, New York. The many people he
Best of all, he describes the music. I am not a jazz expert so I appreciated being told when something was special, new, and different from what everyone else was doing. Terry Teachout describes what Armstrong did that showed how great a trumpet player he was. He also shows how others learned from Armstrong or played their own thing that contributed to the evolution of jazz. It is all a wonderful lesson told in a great way. There is a list at the end of the major recordings of Armstrong's life - I think it is amazing and wonderful that so many of the early recordings form the 1920's and 1930's are available. I found it useful to listen to the recordings as they were described in the book.
The other aspect I appreciated was the description of and interpretation of Armstrong's reputation through the decades that he played. Why younger musicians didn't appreciate his style on stage, why critics didn't appreciate his later years, and how Armstrong felt about all of that. A good book about a great man.
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learned from, played with, and inspired are mentioned. Where multiple versions of a story exist the author provides a balanced hearing and an indication of where the truth probably exists.Best of all, he describes the music. I am not a jazz expert so I appreciated being told when something was special, new, and different from what everyone else was doing. Terry Teachout describes what Armstrong did that showed how great a trumpet player he was. He also shows how others learned from Armstrong or played their own thing that contributed to the evolution of jazz. It is all a wonderful lesson told in a great way. There is a list at the end of the major recordings of Armstrong's life - I think it is amazing and wonderful that so many of the early recordings form the 1920's and 1930's are available. I found it useful to listen to the recordings as they were described in the book.
The other aspect I appreciated was the description of and interpretation of Armstrong's reputation through the decades that he played. Why younger musicians didn't appreciate his style on stage, why critics didn't appreciate his later years, and how Armstrong felt about all of that. A good book about a great man.
Show Less
LibraryThing member dukedom_enough
As a newly-minted, 20 year old jazz fan, I didn't give much thought to Louis Armstrong. Knew him then as the smiling singer of popular tunes, not much like the Coltrane/Davis/Sanders groups I was discovering. But then there was that famous four-word summary of the history of jazz from Miles Davis:
Armstrong (1901-1971) was born in deep poverty, deprived of even knowing his birth date, which was about a year later than the July 4, 1900 he claimed. He supported himself with his music from age 17, spending most of his life on the road. Beyond helping to invent jazz, he gave us some of the most sublime versions of Great American Songbook tunes - "Blueberry Hill", "Mack the Knife", "What a Wonderful World" - singing in his gravelly voice, proving that art needn't be pretty to be beautiful.
Teachout looks to reclaim the long middle part of Armstrong's career, normally associated with mediocre backup bands, especially in the 1930s. He notes some fine work in the period, but I'm not sure he makes the case. Armstrong had to live with the presence of gangsters in the music business, and seems to have accepted the protection of one in particular, his longtime manager Joe Glaser, at the cost of half of his earnings. Maybe Armstrong thought such a disadvantageous deal was his best prospect, as a Black man in America, for getting on with his music and a secure living.
As usual in a biography, I discovered endless facts I hadn't known. Armstrong was self-taught on the cornet and trumpet, and his technique caused steady harm to his embouchure. He had the first star billing for a Black performer in a Hollywood movie, and at one point in 1941 was associated with an Orson Welles project to make a movie about jazz. He and Bing Crosby were friends. The book includes 54 pages of notes with lots of bits like these. Teachout drew on much previously unavailable material for this book, including many hours of candid recordings Armstrong made of himself.
Besides wanting to know more about Armstrong, I read this book for insight into the late Terry Teachout (1956-2022). I followed Teachout's twitter account for several years, and found him an interesting and humane writer on the arts. But he was a political conservative, working for National Review and organizing "The Vile Body, a social club of right-wing intellectuals from the fields of publishing and journalism in New York City." Considering the general barbarity of right wing discourse in the US today, I wondered how Teachout could exist as an exception. I still don't understand it, except that we all compartmentalize.
There's a conservative aspect of his subject that must have appealed. Armstrong was abandoned by his father at birth, and later wrote of his contempt for those of his race who shirked their responsibilities. Still, Teachout does not downplay Armstrong's own recognition of racism: "Why, do you know I played ninety-nine million hotels I couldn't stay at? And if I had friends blowing at some all-white nightclub or hotel I couldn't get in to see 'em - or them to see me."
This is from one of the finest musicians America has produced. Armstrong's life is as inspiring a testament to overcoming odds as we could ask for.
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"Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker." I understood about Parker, but why Armstrong? He had disparaged Parker and the other beboppers, younger musicians who played edgier music and didn't care about pleasing their white listeners. I later discovered Armstrong's Hot Fives and Hot Sevens from the 1920s; OK, he'd been one of the inventors of jazz. Over the years, I heard more Armstrong recordings, and gained new appreciation for ones I already knew.Armstrong (1901-1971) was born in deep poverty, deprived of even knowing his birth date, which was about a year later than the July 4, 1900 he claimed. He supported himself with his music from age 17, spending most of his life on the road. Beyond helping to invent jazz, he gave us some of the most sublime versions of Great American Songbook tunes - "Blueberry Hill", "Mack the Knife", "What a Wonderful World" - singing in his gravelly voice, proving that art needn't be pretty to be beautiful.
Teachout looks to reclaim the long middle part of Armstrong's career, normally associated with mediocre backup bands, especially in the 1930s. He notes some fine work in the period, but I'm not sure he makes the case. Armstrong had to live with the presence of gangsters in the music business, and seems to have accepted the protection of one in particular, his longtime manager Joe Glaser, at the cost of half of his earnings. Maybe Armstrong thought such a disadvantageous deal was his best prospect, as a Black man in America, for getting on with his music and a secure living.
As usual in a biography, I discovered endless facts I hadn't known. Armstrong was self-taught on the cornet and trumpet, and his technique caused steady harm to his embouchure. He had the first star billing for a Black performer in a Hollywood movie, and at one point in 1941 was associated with an Orson Welles project to make a movie about jazz. He and Bing Crosby were friends. The book includes 54 pages of notes with lots of bits like these. Teachout drew on much previously unavailable material for this book, including many hours of candid recordings Armstrong made of himself.
Besides wanting to know more about Armstrong, I read this book for insight into the late Terry Teachout (1956-2022). I followed Teachout's twitter account for several years, and found him an interesting and humane writer on the arts. But he was a political conservative, working for National Review and organizing "The Vile Body, a social club of right-wing intellectuals from the fields of publishing and journalism in New York City." Considering the general barbarity of right wing discourse in the US today, I wondered how Teachout could exist as an exception. I still don't understand it, except that we all compartmentalize.
There's a conservative aspect of his subject that must have appealed. Armstrong was abandoned by his father at birth, and later wrote of his contempt for those of his race who shirked their responsibilities. Still, Teachout does not downplay Armstrong's own recognition of racism: "Why, do you know I played ninety-nine million hotels I couldn't stay at? And if I had friends blowing at some all-white nightclub or hotel I couldn't get in to see 'em - or them to see me."
This is from one of the finest musicians America has produced. Armstrong's life is as inspiring a testament to overcoming odds as we could ask for.
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LibraryThing member HHS-Staff
Reviewed by Mr. Overeem (Language Arts)
Missouri native Terry Teachout sets the record straight on the 20th century's most important and most frequently misunderstood musician, about whom Duke Ellington said, "He was born poor, died rich, and didn't hurt anyone along the way." Warm, precise, funny,
Missouri native Terry Teachout sets the record straight on the 20th century's most important and most frequently misunderstood musician, about whom Duke Ellington said, "He was born poor, died rich, and didn't hurt anyone along the way." Warm, precise, funny,
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and probing, Teachout's style matches his subject's personality. A beauty of a read. Show Less
LibraryThing member TomDHall
This biography of Satchmo is written by a jazz musician and journalist who appreciates what Armstrong contributed to American music. I got a sense of the man and his music and felt I was reading a well-paced novel.
LibraryThing member MLBowers
I am sure it is just me, but I couldn't get through this. The level of detail about the music and various characters I am sure will be fascinating to some, but for me it became work.
LibraryThing member pdever
A super biography, both easy to read and interesting. I learned a lot, not only about Louis Armstrong and his music, but also about the world in which he performed--whether that meant the effects of early recording technology on the way bands played during their sessions; how the mob was tied up
Teachout refers to the book as a narrative biography and that provides a good description of the easy way the book reads. He also allows Louis to speak for himself much of the time, and includes a lot of straight quotation of the man's own words.
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with Louis' business and served as impetus for his first trips to Europe; or how Louis responded to the standoff between Eisenhower and Governor Faubus after the supreme court ordered desegregation of Arkansas schools. Teachout refers to the book as a narrative biography and that provides a good description of the easy way the book reads. He also allows Louis to speak for himself much of the time, and includes a lot of straight quotation of the man's own words.
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LibraryThing member MacDad
Louis Armstrong is one of the legends of twentieth century music. During five decades as a performer he thrilled audiences with his cornet and trumpet virtuosity, while his gravelly voice made him one of the most popular and recognizable singers of his day. Such a career became the stuff of legend,
In this he is aided by Armstrong, who left behind two autobiographies and numerous audio recordings. From them we learn a man unashamed of his impoverished beginnings in the "black Storyville" neighborhood of New Orleans. The musical scene of the town's brothels and clubs provided the young Armstrong with both his early musical education and his first employment. Teachout goes on to describe his journey during the 1920s from promising young cornet player into the headlining talent he became by the end of the decade. Teachout rightly gives this period, one that saw some of his most innovative music, considerable attention, but he challenges critics such as Gunther Schuller who dismiss Armstrong's work with the big bands of the 1930s and 1940s. These decades dominate the biography, taking up eight of the book's twelve chapters. The final chapters chronicle the established entertainer who faced the twin challenges of aging and the disdainful attitude of the younger generation of musicians who followed in his giant footsteps.
In examining Armstrong's life, Teachout brings to bear his skills as detective and storyteller. He succeeds in depicting a very human yet enormously gifted performer, a talented musician who was also a superb entertainer. His book easily supersedes earlier biographies of Armstrong in its thoroughness and readability, yet it remains frustratingly incomplete by itself. For while Teachout does an admirable job of describing Armstrong's music, the book really is best enjoyed when accompanied by the songs Teachout describes. Though the author identified thirty songs in an appendix that can be downloaded by the reader, the sheer amount of music he describes warrants more comprehensive collections. It is only when listening to them in conjunction with Teachout's book that the degree of Armstrong's achievement is best understood.
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making it difficult to discern the truth underneath. In this book, Terry Teachout undertakes the difficult task to sift though the legend to discover the man underneath.In this he is aided by Armstrong, who left behind two autobiographies and numerous audio recordings. From them we learn a man unashamed of his impoverished beginnings in the "black Storyville" neighborhood of New Orleans. The musical scene of the town's brothels and clubs provided the young Armstrong with both his early musical education and his first employment. Teachout goes on to describe his journey during the 1920s from promising young cornet player into the headlining talent he became by the end of the decade. Teachout rightly gives this period, one that saw some of his most innovative music, considerable attention, but he challenges critics such as Gunther Schuller who dismiss Armstrong's work with the big bands of the 1930s and 1940s. These decades dominate the biography, taking up eight of the book's twelve chapters. The final chapters chronicle the established entertainer who faced the twin challenges of aging and the disdainful attitude of the younger generation of musicians who followed in his giant footsteps.
In examining Armstrong's life, Teachout brings to bear his skills as detective and storyteller. He succeeds in depicting a very human yet enormously gifted performer, a talented musician who was also a superb entertainer. His book easily supersedes earlier biographies of Armstrong in its thoroughness and readability, yet it remains frustratingly incomplete by itself. For while Teachout does an admirable job of describing Armstrong's music, the book really is best enjoyed when accompanied by the songs Teachout describes. Though the author identified thirty songs in an appendix that can be downloaded by the reader, the sheer amount of music he describes warrants more comprehensive collections. It is only when listening to them in conjunction with Teachout's book that the degree of Armstrong's achievement is best understood.
Show Less
LibraryThing member rynk
As music critic Terry Teachout can describe a Hot Five performance in both technical and emotional terms. He does the same for his subject, in the process stripping away cant and historical baggage. The combination of scholarly and critical perspective is winning. He knows his Sachmo.
Awards
The Economist Best Books (2009.24)
Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year (Nonfiction — 2009)
The New York Times Notable Books of the Year (Nonfiction — 2010)
San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year (Nonfiction — 2009)