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.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author:
Daniel Stein is Professor in North American Literary and Cultural Studies at the University of Siegen, Germany.
Review:
"Meticulous citations and helpful appendixes enhance the strength of this important, though complex, work. Highly recommended."
--T. E./i>
--T. E. Buehrer"Choice" (03/14/2013)
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.