Music Is My Life: Louis Armstrong, Autobiography, and American Jazz

by Daniel Stein

Overview

Music Is My Life is the first comprehensive analysis of Louis Armstrong's autobiographical writings (including his books, essays, and letters) and their relation to his musical and visual performances. Combining approaches from autobiography theory, literary criticism, intermedia studies, cultural history, and musicology, Daniel Stein reconstructs Armstrong's performances of his life story across various media and for different audiences, complicating the monolithic and hagiographic views of the musician.

The book will appeal to academic readers with an interest in African American studies, jazz studies, musicology, and popular culture, as well as general readers interested in Armstrong's life and music, jazz, and twentieth-century entertainment. While not a biography, it provides a key to understanding Armstrong's oeuvre as well as his complicated place in American history and twentieth-century media culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780472028504
Publisher:	University of Michigan Press
Publication date:	05/03/2012
Series:	Jazz Perspectives
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	349
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Daniel Stein is Professor in North American Literary and Cultural Studies at the University of Siegen, Germany.

Table of Contents

Contents Introduction - “Music is my life, and I live to play” : Louis Armstrong’s Jazz Autobiographics Chapter 1 - “I have always been a great observer” : New Orleans Musicking Chapter 2 - “I done forgot the words”: Versioning Autobiography Chapter 3 - “Diddat Come Outa Mee?” : Writing Scat and Typing Swing Chapter 4 - “A happy go lucky sort of type of fellow” : The Productive Ambiguities of Minstrel Sounding Chapter 5 - “He didn’t need black face—to be funny” : The Double Resonance of Postcolonial Performance Chapter 6 - “My mission is music” : Armstrong’s Cultural Politics Conclusion - “What do you know about that?” : Final Thoughts on “Laughin’ Louie” Notes Suggested Listening Suggested Further Reading Index

Editorial Reviews

"...Daniel Stein's book is the first to examine Armstrong's autobiographical record carefully to see what it reveals about the man, his life, and his music. The result is a fascinating book that is likely to offer unexpected insights and information to even the best-read Armstrong researcher."
—Robert Rawlins, Rowan University, Popular Music and Society

Popular Music and Society - Robert Rawlins

"It is really gratifying to find a study of a jazz performer that recognises so comprehensively the deeper historical and cultural framework of a music that has been so often deracinated or romanticised."
—Bruce Johnson, Popular Music

Popular Music - Bruce Johnson

"Meticulous citations and helpful appendixes enhance the strength of this important, though complex, work. Highly recommended."
—T. E. Buehrer, Choice

Choice - T. E. Buehrer

Winner: American Library Association (ALA) Choice Outstanding Academic Title

ALA Choice Outstanding Academic Title

"The contributions of Stein’s book to the study of Louis Armstrong and his music are manifold. With a rare historical and contextual awareness, Stein illustrates the extent to which Armstrong’s autobiographical self-performances conflicted with and challenged appropriations of Armstrong by such jazz writers and critics as Horace Gerlach, Robert Goffin, Hugues Panassié, and Rudi Blesh, among others."
—Mario Dunkel, Jazz Research News

Jazz Research Notes - Mario Dunkel

"Stein gives Armstrong's autobiographical performance a much more thorough, detailed analysis than has heretofore been attempted, and the resulting study shines a bright light not only on Armstrong the person but, more importantly, also on the identity of Louis Armstrong as an iconic public figure." 
—Ken Prouty, Fontes Artis Musicae

FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE - Ken Prouty

Named a Choice Outstanding Academic Title

American Library Association (ALA) Choice Outstanding Academic Title

Named a Choice Outstanding Academic Title

Choice Outstanding Academic Title