Heart Full of Rhythm: The Big Band Years of Louis Armstrong

by Ricky Riccardi

Between 1929 and 1947, Armstrong transformed himself from a little-known trumpeter in Chicago to an internationally renowned pop star, setting in motion the innovations of the Swing Era and Bebop. He had a similar effect on the art of American pop singing, waxing some of his most identifiable hits such as "Jeepers Creepers," "When You're Smiling," and "When the Saints Go Marching In." Along the way, he became the first black man to host a nationally sponsored radio show and to receive featured billing in a Hollywood film. However as author Ricky Riccardi shows, Armstrong's most transformative era wasn't without its problems, from racist performance reviews and being held up at gunpoint by gangsters to struggling with an overworked embouchure and getting arrested for marijuana possession. Utilizing a prodigious amount of new research, Riccardi traces the Armstrong's mid-career fall from grace-why his career faltered; the ways in which the rise of swing and bop affected his musical approach and identity; the sacrifices he made to reenter the limelight; and the choices he made during this period that ultimately led to his resurgence as an iconic vocalist and performer whose nuance influenced the musical stylings of Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, and countless others for decades to follow.

Featuring never-before-published photographs and brand new stories culled from Armstrong's personal archives, Heart Full of Rhythm: The Big Band Years of Louis Armstrong tells the story of the man called "Pops".

Genres: Music, Biography, Jazz, Nonfiction

424 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2020

Reviews

[Harold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely the best book on Armstrong I have read to date and I've read quite a few. It's telling that the first thing I did upon finishing it was to immediately order Riccardi's earlier work on Armstrong. I hadn't yet read that because it was unavailable on Kindle and I figured I would wait for the Kindle edition. After reading this I decided to wait no longer. This book is, as the title tells us, about the big band years and records made during that period. The first book is about the period after that, when Louis led a small group known as The All Stars. I was fortunate enough to see them three times in my teenage years and the memory is vivid. People who only know Louis through Hello Dolly and his "hits" of the 60s are missing the total blend of entertainment and great music Armstrong put out. The man was a phenomenon. Those of you reading this (if anyone. Lol) check out some of the live things on you tube and maybe some of the classic recordings. It's well worth your investment in time.

[Mike Mikulski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riccardi again provides a well-written, well-researched and organized look at the life of Louis Armstrong, a gifted musician whose life and career spanned the birth and evolution of jazz placed alongside the civil rights struggle of African Americans.

Heart Full of Rhythm follows Armstrong from the late 1920s when his performance and recording career was established in New Orleans and Chicago through the 1930s big-band era through the budding development of modern jazz and bebop in the late 40's. During this period we see jazz move from "race music" recorded on O'Keh records and performed at urban clubs in New Orleans, Chicago's South Side and New York's Harlem, to the popular music of the 30's embraced by white and black audiences, moving to mainstream recording labels and into the movies. Armstrong becomes one of the top popular musicians of the 30's and 40's moving his performances to Broadway and on tours across the US, England and continental Europe. Particularly insightful are the challenges touring through the southern US during this time and the descriptions of performances to white, black and mixed audiences in the Jim Crow south. Armstrong appears in movies appearing next to Bing Crosby and Martha Raye and is part of a bio-pic project to be directed by a post-Citizen Kane Orson Wells that never comes to full production.

What Riccardi lays out so well is how Armstrong is perceived and received by both black and white audiences during this time as reflected in the mainstream media in Variety, Billboard, Downbeat magazine and the New York columns of Walter Winchell compared to the reception in the Black newspaper press. In the white entertainment industry Armstrong builds his career on incredible trumpet, singing and comedy talent alongside major white actors and jazz musicians that appeal to a white audience. In the Black community Armstrong is still an incredible draw, but with concerns that while he is breaking racial barriers his entertainment style may be built too closely to minstrel and "Uncle Tom" character stereotypes. Similarly, Armstrong finds himself described by the press as belonging to specific jazz styles Traditional New Orleans Dixieland vs. Dance Hall Big Band Swing vs. the modern jazz coming out of Minton's in mid-town Manhattan by the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Miles Davis and others. The reality is Armstrong's musical ability allows him to rise in all styles and his endearing style appeals to audiences in all areas through the 30's and 40's.

The book ends at the start of the 50's with an epilogue that foretells a split between Armstrong and his African American audience due to Armstrong's style that does not track with the Black mind-set of the coming Civil Rights era. Riccardi believes that Armstrong's love of all musical and entertainment style transcends any single audience segment and his first book What a Wonderful World lays out this premise. I started to read these books following Armstrong's life chronologically not in the order they were published. I look forward to reading What a Wonderful World for a deeper understanding of how Armstrong's music was received during the 50's and 60's until his death in 1971.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second in Ricky Riccardi’s biographical trilogy about Louis Armstrong. Riccardi is Director of Research Collections for the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona, Queens, New York, where Louis lived for most of his life. While not a huge fan of his music (or voice!), as a music lover & historian, I’ve come to respect & admire Armstrong’s seminal role in the evolution of twentieth century jazz and popular music. This is really the point of Riccardi’s books.

My impressions of Armstrong date from the ‘60s when, as a child, I would see Armstrong as a sweaty older man with an extremely gravelly voice who showed up on variety & talk shows, usually singing “Hello Dolly.” I didn’t pay him much attention or realize his importance until I started listening to old blues singers like Bessie Smith, due to her mention as an influence on Janis Joplin. Then I realized that was Armstrong’s masterful cornet accompanying her on “St. Louis Blues!” As a frequent visitor to New Orleans, I learned even more about him. Stomp Off, Let’s Go, the Early Years of Louis Armstrong, Riccardi’s first book, recounts these tumultuous early years of the musician in the Big Easy, Chicago & New York. It’s probably my favorite as it covers the burgeoning New Orleans jazz scene and the forward musical leap initiated by Armstrong’s Hot Five & Hot Seven ensembles.

But in Heart Full of Rhythm, Riccardi dispels the notion that Armstrong was no longer innovative or influencial during the ‘30s and ‘40s, his Big Band era. He was interested in the contemporary, popular music of his time and believed in always looking forward, not back. The harshest criticism came later from the bebop & cool jazz players, like Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, because Armstrong didn’t play that type of jazz. However, Davis acknowledged Armstrong’s status by stating “You can’t play anything on a horn that Louis hasn’t played.” That’s kind of like criticizing Springsteen or Jagger for not playing rap or hip-hop today-it just wasn’t his genre! He was also targeted by the “pure” jazz aficionados for his “Uncle Tom” brand of humor & flamboyant showmanship, but that was all a product of his upbringing & personal taste. Most of his audience, especially his Black fans at the Apollo & other venues, loved it.

Louis Armstrong’s contributions to jazz & music in general can not be overstated and Riccardi expertly details his significant achievements & influence in this interesting & entertaining book.

[Jeff Crompton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ricky Riccardi wrote his three-part Louis Armstrong biography in reverse order, beginning with the later years. I'm reading the three volumes in chronological order. This second book continues the high standards of his examination of Armstrong's early years. Riccardi doesn't shy away from discussing the negative - Armstrong was unfaithful to all four of his wives, and could hold a grudge for years. But the overall impression we come away with is that of musical genius who was also a warm, engaging, and very funny man.

Riccardi also discusses Armstrong's recordings in some detail, pointing out moments of beauty that I had forgotten or never noticed. Based on the two volumes I have read so far, it's hard to imagine that a better biography of Armstrong will ever come along.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is SO well-researched and so well-written. The author had unique access to so much archival material (and help from so many great archivists!) that it couldn't help but be the outstanding book that it is.

I'm grateful for the insight that Mr. Riccardi has gleaned and so kindly shared with us. Don't forget to read all the footnotes, there are gems there that you won't want to miss. Thank you, Ricky Riccardi!