Satchmo (Da Capo Paperback) [Paperback]

Louis Armstrong (Author)

Book Description

Series: Da Capo Paperback | Publication Date: August 1986

”In all my whole career the Brick House was one of the toughest joints I ever played in. It was the honky-tonk where levee workers would congregate every Saturday night and trade with the gals who’d stroll up and down the floor and the bar. Those guys would drink and fight one another like circle saws. Bottles would come flying over the bandstand like crazy, and there was lots of just plain common shooting and cutting. But somehow all that jive didn’t faze me at all, I was so happy to have some place to blow my horn.” So says Louis Armstrong, a tough kid who just happened to be a musical genius, about one of the places where he performed and grew up. This raucous, rich tale of his early days in New Orleans concludes with his departure to Chicago at twenty-one to play with his boyhood idol King Oliver, and tells the story of a life that began, mythically, on July 4, 1900, in the city that sowed the seeds of jazz.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"By far the most revealing document yet on Louis Armstrong's early life and his view of music in the world, Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans is also a pleasure to read." -- Martin Williams

"Compelling autobiography." -- Chicago Tribune

"It is refreshing indeed to dig this unpretentious, rough-hewn, honest-to-badness memoir." -- New York Times

"With the inimitable style and love for life he brought to everything he did, Armstrong tells the story of how he grew up in circumstances we have been conditioned to perceive as sordid and depraved. Is human character the product of environment? Read Satchmo and find out." -- Dan Morgenstern

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (August 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306802767
• ISBN-13: 978-0306802768
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #265,527 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans, July 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Satchmo (Da Capo Paperback) (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The editors kept Armstrong's voice true to the legend and honest in its depictions of his sometimes harsh life in New Orleans. However, Artmstrong's sense of humor and goodness shine through his story and the reader really learns to like him as a person as well as a great musician. As a native New Orleanian, I really enjoyed his descriptions of the city during that time. I look forward to reading this book again!

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like pulling up an armchair and jawin' with Louis, November 4, 2003

By 

R. J. Marsella (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Satchmo (Da Capo Paperback) (Paperback)

What shines through this recollection of Louis Armstrong's youth in New Orleans is the essential positive outlook this man seems to have been born with despite the hardship of his early years. This "life-force' for lack of a better term is what drove his musicianship to such heights that he is the most revered American musician of the 20th century. While this is no scholalry biography it is written with the feel of an oral history and reading it is much like having Satch relate these tales over a few drinks. Not only does it shed much light on the real person that Louis Armstrong was but it also reflects an era in old New Orleans that is absolutely fascinating to read about in the words of someone who lived there. This is a hugely enjoyable book on numerous levels and for fans of Armstrong it is indispensible.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A glinpse into an old way and an old soul, December 29, 2009

By 

Steven H. Dymond "sdymondpc" (Englewood, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Satchmo (Da Capo Paperback) (Paperback)

I agree with the previous reviewers regarding style and simplicity.

What I loved most about this book is the glimpse into old New Orleans, an older America, and the richness of black music and its culture and roots.

One learns some older blues jargon, and, implicitly, the closely knit New Orleans musical life. The book also gives insight into another culture, musicians, pimps and prostitutes and the sporting life, as well as the unfailing positive spirit of Louis Armstrong.

This is more about the times of his youth than an in depth understanding of the development of his musicianship. It is, however, an entertaining and informative read, for lovers of the man, blues, jazz, and 'wild west' New Orleans culture around the early 1900's. Mr. Armstrong's happiness and energy pour forth in every page.