More than twenty biographies have been written about Louis. The following books are the most significant biographies of Louis Armstrong.
You may purchase any of our suggested Armstrong biographies or other books and periodicals at Barnes & Nobles by clicking below. As an Affiliate Partner of Barnes & Noble, we will receive a donation of 5% on any purchase made through our website. This is a great way to expand your Armstrong collection, while supporting the Louis Armstrong House & Archives at no extra cost.
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Louis Armstrong: The Offstage Story of Satchmo
by Michael Cogswell |
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Format: Hardcover, 192pp.
ISBN: 1888054816
Publisher: Collectors Press
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The Official Book of the Louis Armstrong House & Archives and a companion book to the newly-opened Louis Armstrong House Museum. This book offers an intimate backstage perspective of Satchmo through never-before-published photos, writings, and recordings. Drawing from the Louis Armstrong Archives where he has worked for over 12 years, Director Michael Cogswell tells the Armstrong story that hasn't been told. A brand-new book that makes a great gift.
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Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans
by Louis Armstrong
Format: Paperback, 256pp.
ISBN: 0306802767
Publisher: Da Capo Press
A captivating autobiography that covers Armstrong's life until his debut with King Oliver in Chicago in 1922. Unlike Swing That Music, the text is undoubtedly written in Armstrong's own voice, although the book has been edited. Essential source for research into early Armstrong.
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Swing That Music
by Louis Armstrong
Format: Paperback, 200pp.
ISBN: 0306805448
Publisher: Da Capo Press
The first autobiography of a jazz musician. Although undoubtedly based upon a manuscript authored by Armstrong, the published book is heavily ghost written. Covers Armstrong's life until 1936. Some of the information is unreliable. The book contains significant details that do not appear in Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans but that have been verified by recent research. Essential source for research into early Armstrong.
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Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life
by Laurence Bergreen
Format: Paperback, 592pp.
ISBN: 0767901568
Publisher: Broadway Books
An entertaining, "show-biz" biography written for a popular audience. The first Armstrong biography to bring together information from Louis's unpublished manuscripts, previous biographies, magazine articles, oral history interviews and other diverse sources into a single, chronological narrative. Unfortunately, the book is riddled with dozens of mistakes, large and small.
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The Louis Armstrong Companion:
Eight Decades of Commentary
by Joshua Berrett
Format: Paperback, 300pp.
ISBN: 0825671930
Publisher: Music Sales Corporation
A wonderful compilation of previously unpublished writings by Louis Armstrong, important source materials that have not been widely available, and new research by Dr. Berrett. Includes letters and manuscripts from the holdings of the Louis Armstrong Archives. Includes significant essays such as David Ostwald's "Louis Armstrong: Civil Rights Pioneer" (originally published as an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times). Includes interviews with Arvell Shaw, Trummy Young, and others.
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Louis Armstrong: In His Own Words
by Louis Armstrong, Thomas David Brothers
Format: Paperback, 2nd ed., 256pp.
ISBN: 019514046X
Publisher: Oxford University Press
This book comprises of a wealth of previously unpublished Armstrong manuscripts and letters held by the Louis Armstrong Archives, the Institute of Jazz Studies, the Library of Congress, and private collections. Among its many treasures are captivating passages that describe how Louis got his first trumpet at the age of seven (before he entered the Waif's Home), detailed descriptions of life on the road, and an endearing portrait of his life with Lucille in Corona, Queens. An essential source for every Armstrong lover.
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Louis Armstrong: An American Genius
by James Lincoln Collier
Format: Paperback, 416pp.
ISBN: 0195037278
Publisher: Oxford University Press
A problematic revisionist biography that was condemned by prominent scholars and by those who knew Armstrong. Collier's central thesis is that Armstrong was emotionally crippled by insecurities that compelled him to maintain an active schedule of international performances so that he would receive approval from his audiences. In spite of the seriously flawed thesis, the book does present some new information, and the narrative is clearly organized. Coverage is primarily until the 1940s; the author believes that Armstrong's creative powers dwindled in his final decades.
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Satchmo
by Gary Giddins
Format: Paperback, 1st ed., 240pp.
ISBN: 0306808137
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Perhaps the finest biography of Armstrong published to date. The author, an award winning jazz critic, recognizes that part of Armstrong's genius was his ability to be both an artist of the highest caliber and an entertainer who was accessible to all. Includes more than one hundred photographs of rare or unique materials that are now held by the Louis Armstrong Archives at Queens College.
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Louis: The Louis Armstrong Story, 1900-1971.
by Max Jones
Format: Hardcover, 302pp.
ISBN: 0306803240
Publisher: Da Capo Press
The first book length biography to appear after Armstrong's death. Filled with much primary source material (e.g., letters from Armstrong to the authors, transcriptions of interviews). Much of the material presented in Salute to Satchmo appears again in this volume. Organization, however, is quite poor primarily because information is not presented in chronological sequence. List of films. Chronology. Insightful discographical essay by Chilton.
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Louis Armstrong: A Cultural Legacy
by Marc H. Miller
Format: Hardcover, 248pp.
ISBN: 029597382X
Publisher: University of Washington Press
An exhibition catalog for a major exhibit on Louis Armstrong that toured the United States from 1994 until 1997. (The Louis Armstrong Archives was the principle lender to this exhibition.) Contains dozens of previously unpublished photographs and images. Contains five scholarly essays which vary in quality.
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If I Only Had a Horn: Young Louis Armstrong
by Roxanne Orgill, Leonard Jenkins
Format: Hardcover, 32pp.
ISBN: 0395759196
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Recommend Age Range: 5 to 8
A charming biography for young readers that maintains interest without sacrificing historical accuracy. Perhaps the best of the biographies for young readers. The narrative ends with Louis receiving his first trumpet in the Waif's Home.
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