How Duke Ellington and Other Jazzmen Became America’s First Globally Famous Musicians

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

Society & Culture, History

4.2 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 21 May 2024

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The first globally famous American musicians weren’t part of the 50s rock wave that included Elvis Pressly or Chuck Berry. They were three 3 jazzmen who orchestrated the chords that throb at the soul of twentieth-century America: Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie.

While their music is well-known, their background stories aren’t. Duke Ellington was the grandson of slaves whose composing, piano playing, and band leading transcended category. Louis Daniel Armstrong was born in a New Orleans slum so tough it was called The Battlefield and, at age seven, got his first musical instrument, a ten-cent tin horn that drew buyers to his rag-peddling wagon and set him on the road to elevating jazz into a pulsating force for spontaneity and freedom. William James Basie was son of a coachman and laundress who dreamed of escaping every time the traveling carnival swept into town, and who finally engineered his getaway with help from Fats Waller.

To explore their stories is today’s guest, Larry Tye, author of “The Jazz Men: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Sky here with another episode of the History Unplugged Podcast.
0:07.0	The first musicians to achieve global popularity in the 20th century weren't part of the British invasion like the Beatles or the Rolling Stones.
0:15.0	It wasn't 50s rock and rollers, Gelevis Presley or Chuck Berry.
0:18.0	Instead, it was a trio of Jasmine.
0:20.0	Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Count Basie, who at the height of their fame were the most popular entertainers on the planet.
0:25.5	They sold millions of albums, sold out shows constantly, Louis Armstrong clocking up to 300 live performances a year,
0:32.0	over arguably the most important people
0:34.0	as part of the Civil Rights Movement.
0:35.7	But as popular as the three were,
0:37.3	their backgrounds aren't very well known.
0:38.9	Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans,
0:40.6	Slum So Tough, it was called the battlefield.
0:42.6	At the age of seven, he got his first instrument, a ten-cent tin born,
0:46.0	that drew virus to his wagon, where he was peddling wares.
0:49.0	Count Baysy was the son of a coachman and laundress who dreamed of escaping
0:52.2	to the traveling circus every time it came by his town?
0:54.4	Duke Ellington was the grandson of slaves, but created a polished stage image and he was praised for his soulful Shakespearean arrangements.
1:01.5	Today's episode, I'm speaking to Larry Ty, author of the
1:04.2	Jasmine, how Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie Transformed America.
1:07.9	We look at their off-stage lives, their sometimes very significant personal flaws,
1:12.0	and how they shape the fabric of America.
1:14.1	Hope you enjoy this discussion with Larry Ty.
	...

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