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Top of the pile
89
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
82/100Critics
96/100Scholars
Author:
Ricky Riccardi
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Date:
September 1, 2020
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. Riccardi traces Armstrong's mid-career fall from grace and dramatic resurgence. Featuring never-before-published photographs and stories culled from Armstrong's personal archives, Heart Full of Rhythm tells the story of how the man called "Pops" became the first "King of Pop."
What The Reviewers Say
Heart Full of Rhythmis an all-encompassing, vividly detailed biographical portrait of one of the richest careers in all of music.
Heart Full of Rhythm: The Big Band Years of Louis Armstrong tells the pivotal story of Armstrong leaving the narrow loyalties of Carroll Dickerson’s Orchestra - the haphazard arrangements, the often-tenous finances, the desperate fraternal loyalty, the unmistakable on-stage magic - and stepping onto a much broader stage.
Drawing on interviews, oral histories, and archival sources from the Louis Armstrong House Museum, where he is Director of Research Collections, Riccardi creates a vibrant portrait of Armstrong (1901-1971) focused on his career from 1929 to 1947, when he had a decisive impact on both jazz and popular music.
