{"product_id":"pops-a-life-of-louis-armstrong-9780547386379","title":"Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong","description":"Louis Armstrong is widely known as the greatest jazz musician of the twentieth century. He was a phenomenally gifted and imaginative artist, and an entertainer so irresistibly magnetic that he knocked the Beatles off the top of the charts four decades after he cut his first record. Offstage he was witty, introspective, and unexpectedly complex, a beloved colleague with an explosive temper whose larger-than-life personality was tougher and more sharp-edged than his worshiping fans ever knew.\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/em\u003e critic Terry Teachout has drawn on a cache of important new sources unavailable to previous biographers, including hundreds of candid after-hours recordings made by Armstrong himself, to craft a sweeping new narrative biography. Certain to be the definitive word on Armstrong for our generation, \u003cem\u003ePops\u003c\/em\u003e paints a gripping portrait of the man, his world, and his music that will stand alongside Gary Giddins's \u003cem\u003eBing Crosby \u003c\/em\u003eand Peter Guralnick's \u003cem\u003eLast Train to Memphis \u003c\/em\u003eas a classic biography of a major American musician.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTeachout, Terry:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003eTERRY TEACHOUT is the drama critic of the\u003ci\u003e Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e and the chief culture critic of \u003ci\u003eCommentary\u003c\/i\u003e. He played jazz professionally before becoming a full-time writer. His books include \u003ci\u003eAll in the Dances: A Brief Life of George Balanchine\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Skeptic: A Life of H. L. Mencken, \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eA Terry Teachout Reader\u003c\/i\u003e. He blogs about the arts at www.terryteachout.com.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mariner Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50523677458706,"sku":"9780547386379","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_c39072a5-71e6-49b2-b791-493274127bd0.jpg?v=1731161185","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/pops-a-life-of-louis-armstrong-9780547386379","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}