Louis Armstrong An American Genius [Paperback]

Louis Armstrong. Satchmo. To millions of fans, he was just a great entertainer. But to jazz aficionados, he was one of the most important musicians of our times--not only a key figure in the history of jazz but a formative influence on all of 20th-century popular music. Set against the backdrop of New Orleans, Chicago, and New York during the jazz age , Collier re-creates the saga of an old-fashioned black man making it in a white world. He chronicles Armstrong's rise as a musician, his scrapes with the law, his relationships with four wives, and his frequent feuds with fellow musicians Earl Hines and Zutty Singleton. He also sheds new light on Armstrong's endless need for approval, his streak of jealousy, and perhaps most important, what some consider his betrayal of his gift as he opted for commercial success and stardom. A unique biography, knowledgeable, insightful, and packed with information, it ends with Armstrong's death in 1971 as one of the best-known figures in American entertainment.


Destined to become one of the enduring jazz reference works. --The Philadelphia Inquirer

The definitive account of Armstrong's life. Collier is a tough, unblinkered critic. --The Washington Post

By far the most thoughtful and articulate study to date of a much misunderstood titan of jazz. --The Nation

A masterful critical biography--sophisticated in its contexts, shrewd yet sympathetic, rich in its supporting cast...and splendidly conscientious in the delicate balance between character and culture. --Kirkus Reviews

The most comprehensive account yet of the man who all but invented swing. --Newsweek