Lillian Hardin Armstrong Stepping Out of the Jazz Shadow
Mar 29, 2024
Harriet
Discover the unsung heroine behind a jazz legend's rise. Step into the world of Lillian Hardin Armstrong, the remarkable woman whose musical genius and business acumen sculpted not only her path but also that of her illustrious ex-husband, Louis Armstrong. As I, Harriet West-Moore, guide you through Lillian's defiance of societal expectations and her journey from Memphis choirs to Chicago's jazz zenith, we'll celebrate the legacy of "Hot Miss Lil." Through her story, we learn the power of persistence and the deep impact of women on America's musical lineage.
Feel the rhythm of a bygone era as we explore Lillian's instrumental role in catapulting Louis from the ensemble shadows to the solo spotlight, forever altering the jazz landscape. Her sophisticated influence extended beyond the music—her shrewd negotiations and foray into fashion design imprinted on Louis's public persona. Even post-divorce, Lillian continued to sway his career with her strategic financial foresight. This episode isn't just a trip down jazz memory lane; it's a homage to a woman whose beats and business sense crafted the soundtrack of an era. Join us for a tribute to Lillian Hardin Armstrong, a woman whose tempo set the stage for jazz's greatest melodies.
Discover the unsung heroine behind a jazz legend's rise. Step into the world of Lillian Hardin Armstrong, the remarkable woman whose musical genius and business acumen sculpted not only her path but also that of her illustrious ex-husband, Louis Armstrong. As I, Harriet West-Moore, guide you through Lillian's defiance of societal expectations and her journey from Memphis choirs to Chicago's jazz zenith, we'll celebrate the legacy of "Hot Miss Lil." Through her story, we learn the power of persistence and the deep impact of women on America's musical lineage.
Feel the rhythm of a bygone era as we explore Lillian's instrumental role in catapulting Louis from the ensemble shadows to the solo spotlight, forever altering the jazz landscape. Her sophisticated influence extended beyond the music—her shrewd negotiations and foray into fashion design imprinted on Louis's public persona. Even post-divorce, Lillian continued to sway his career with her strategic financial foresight. This episode isn't just a trip down jazz memory lane; it's a homage to a woman whose beats and business sense crafted the soundtrack of an era. Join us for a tribute to Lillian Hardin Armstrong, a woman whose tempo set the stage for jazz's greatest melodies.
Happy Friday everybody. This is Harriette Westmore with the More Wine and Music podcast, the podcast where I discuss early artists for early genre over a glass of wine. Tonight I'm going to discuss a female early innovator, so stay tuned. Thank you, all right, welcome. Hope everybody has a good Friday and a good weekend. Before we get started, I'm going to do a little bit of housekeeping keeping Log on to buymeacoffeecom backslash more wine and music to contribute to the podcast so I can bring, continuously bring, content to the show. Also, you can also subscribe to the More Wine and Music podcast at wwwmorewineandmusicpodcastcom and become a subscriber. Keep up to date with all the good information about the history of American music. All right, so here we go. Before I get started, let's see, I just want to make sure all my settings are in place. All right, everything is cool, all right. So this week I wanted to do a female innovator of the early jazz genre and her name was Lilian Harden Armstrong. And if you recognize the last name, armstrong, yes, she was a ex-wife of the great Louis Satchmo Armstrong. You know, while most early innovators of the jazz genre were men, you know, I cannot leave out women whose musical talents help shape, you know, jazz, the early jazz genre too. So henceforth, miss Lillian.
Speaker 1:
Lillian Beatrice Hardin was born on February 3rd in 1898 in Memphis, tennessee. Her parents were Dempsey Martin Hardin and father William Hardin that was her. Her mom's name was Dempsey I thought it was kind of an unusual name for a female Father's name was William. Her mother was one of 13 children and her mother actually was born enslaved, so she was a slave when she was born. So after slavery it was after she became married to William she gave birth to two children. One of the children died in childbirth and the other one, of course, is Lillian.
Speaker 1:
While Lillian was a young girl, her parents just separated, and for whatever reason, I don't know exactly the year of when they separate, but it was said that Lillian was, you know, a pretty young girl, so she had to be probably maybe between five and eight years old when her parents decided to separate. So, miss Dempsey and her little daughter Gillian, they moved into a boarding house where her mom worked as a cook for, you know, cooking for white families. So that was her way of supporting herself. And her daughter Lillian decided she wanted to get into music. So she became interested in playing the piano and her mom encouraged her to pursue music. So she saved up her money and actually sent Lillian to school to actually learn how to read music, which is one of the rare things back then because a lot of artists, as we know, that they just hear and you know they would play by ear they actually didn't know how to read music. But Lillian was one of the few who actually went to school and studied music and she was able to read music.
Speaker 1:
So, of course, as most artists, especially particularly Black artists, they started playing in the church. That's how they got started. And living in Memphis matter of fact, they didn't live not too far from Beale Street. So obviously she was attracted to the music that was going on on Beale Street, which was mainly blues, and so you know, listening to the blues and all the artists that was coming through on Beale Street, you know that just grabbed little Lillian's attention. Her mom, on the other hand, wasn't happy about that. She thought her daughter could do better by playing more of a I don't want to say more of an upscale type of music. She didn't want her daughter to be hanging around what she considered lower class of people who played the blues, and so she kind of dissuaded her daughter to stop hanging around in that type of environment. So she sent her daughter to Fisk University in Nashville and that was where Lillian studied classical music. And that was from 1915 to 1916. So I mean again, you know her mom wanted her daughter to learn more of a classical type of music. She didn't like Lillian hanging around what she called the low lives of artists that were hanging around on Beale Street. So after she completed her studies between 1915 and 1916, lillian came back to Memphis and that was when her mom decided to relocate, leave Tennessee and relocate to Chicago. So she and Lillian packed up their little stuff and moved to Chicago.
Speaker 1:
Shortly after moving to Chicago, lillian took a job as a music demonstrator at the Jones Music Store. Because she was able to read music, she was able to access sheet music. So while you know, working in the store and demonstrating music or music instruments in the store, she was able to have free reign of accessing different pieces of music that she was able to read. And it was there that she actually met Jolly Roll Morton. And since meeting Jolly Roll, lilian was able to get jobs and play with different bands within the Chicago area. She was doing that while maintaining her job at the Jones Music Store. So I mean, she was a little. I mean, you know, she was a little go-getter.
Speaker 1:
She kept her job and was playing around in different bands and it was at that point because she became starting to get popular. She was nicknamed Hot Miss Lil. So from here on out, this is where she got the name of Lil, so this is where I'm going to be referring to her from here on out, lil. All right, so you know again, her mom, miss Dempsey, didn't like the fact that her daughter was playing, you know, in these bands and stuff that was playing these certain types of music. But you know she didn't dissuade her either. So she eventually came around and supported her for doing that. So and Lil was recognized for her piano and for her work in playing the piano and she started playing with Lawrence Duhay and the New Orleans Jazz Band that was playing in the Chicago area at that time, give or take between 1918, 1920. She even played with the great King Oliver Creole band, as you recall.
Speaker 1:
A couple of episodes back I've talked about King Oliver. So Lillian actually played in the band. So she played, she was the pianist in the band with King Oliver at that time. So she played, she was the pianist in the band with King Oliver at that time and she, while she was playing in the band, she met her soon to be future husband. His name was Jimmy Johnson. Jimmy Johnson was a singer. He didn't actually wasn't a part of the King Oliver's Creole band, but he was a jazz singer around Chicago. So she met him and they eventually married and you know, both being musicians, it kind of took a toll on both of their marriage because Lillian was traveling with King Oliver's Creole band so she was not home half the time and then, you know, jimmy was singing in another band. So, you know, to try to save her marriage, lillian quit playing with King Oliver and came back to Chicago, oliver, and came back to Chicago.
Speaker 1:
But you know, shortly thereafter you know in 1922, she was actually missed in the King Oliver's band. So they asked her to rejoin and she did, but you know, at the cost of her marriage. And it was at this point in 1922 that she met the young cornet player, louis Armstrong. So while they both played in King Oliver's Creole band, she and Louis, you know they were bandmates and they were also friends and they both were married at the time. So you know they weren't really attracted to each other because they were married and it was said that actually Louie only didn't think too much of him other than just a friend and a bandmate. But over time they did become closer and they each decided to divorce their prospective spouse and so I think Lillian and Jimmy they divorced first, and then afterwards Louie and his first wife who was named Daisy. He divorced her, and then afterwards Louis and his first wife who was named Daisy. He divorced her, and then Louis and Lillian they became married. So it was Lillian after the marriage.
Speaker 1:
You know, lillian was kind of the one who kind of recreated Louis Armstrong, I mean as far as his presentation in the audience. She was the one who helped him create a better war robe and had him, you know, cut his hair to make to be a little more attractive looking. So she really was the one who kind of reinvented him and made him more presentable and more marketable for the audience. And she was also the one who advocated for him to leave King Oliver's Creole band and go off on his own, because actually at that time he was the kind of like the second chair to King Oliver. He became sick with his pyria, which is disease in the gums. But prior to that King Oliver was the main I mean, that was his band, so he was the leader. But Lillian kind of persuaded her husband, louis, to you know, one of those ones that will be in your ear, you know you can do better on your own. So he eventually left the Creole jazz band and went off on his own off on his own, actually. He hooked up with a guy named Ferguson, I believe, and so he played with him and actually Louis, this was all in New York. So they decided to come back to Chicago.
Speaker 1:
And when they came back to Chicago, that's when they kind of Louis became to get more popular, with Lillian being the the helm and the one that actually pushed him and actually helped him become the person that he was. So actually the name was it wasn't, his name was Fletcher, I'm sorry, fletcher Henderson. That's who. Louis Armstrong left King Oliver's band and play with the guy named Fletcher Henderson. But while Louis was playing with Fletcher Henderson in New York, lillian couldn't really find much gigs to play for herself in New York. So that's when she decided to come back to Chicago and she put together a band herself and then to where Louie was a featured artist. And so, after, you know, playing around in New York for a while with Fletcher, henderson and among others, louis Armstrong came back to Chicago with his wife and together they recorded actual hits like the Hot Five Orchestra and Hot Stevens. This was around in 1925.
Speaker 1:
At the particular time, in the early days of jazz, being a pianist was like they were. The pianist was like the foundation. So they kept the foundation of the music which allowed other instruments in the band to be more creative and do some improvisation. So that's what Lillian did, and Lillian was one of the ones that honed that craft. She was able to play and keep that beat going, while the other instruments horns and everything can come in and, you know, show off their creativity.
Speaker 1:
On a personal note, is anybody who knows about Louis Armstrong? He was very good in, one of the best horn players in the jazz industry, but he was also a womanizer and so he was never faithful in his marriage and this, you know, created a rift between he and Lillian. And you know, of course Lillian was very jealous of his infidelity, even though you know he was unfaithful to her. They continued to record and make and co-write and write music together and record. She was even his manager, even his manager, and as she being his manager, his popularity pretty much grew from there. And while Louie was on the road, lillian decided to return to school and obtain a diploma from the Chicago School College of Music in 1928.
Speaker 1:
Afterwards, lillian bought a nice, large home in Chicago and also a cottage. She was able to buy a cottage and she was hoping, buying these properties. She hoped that this would bring Louis home off the road and stop being a cheater and stop, you know, being a cheater. It didn't. You know, he continued to cheat and, you know, be on the road and have all these other women while he was on the road.
Speaker 1:
But in the meantime, lil, she formed several other bands throughout the years. Some of them were all female bands and some of them were all male, but I mean it was some. It was Lillian who, you know, started and created these bands and she, just she was very ambitious. She was a very ambitious woman. She went back to school again, in New York this time, and she got her postgraduate degree in music and she, because she wanted to change gears instead of, you know, writing and playing music, she wanted to become an actual songwriter and she wanted to become a singer. So she got her postgraduate degree in the New York College of Music and, you know, she became more of a songwriter by 1938, the marriage was pretty much over. So you know, they did, they decided divorce.
Speaker 1:
But one thing about Lillian she was able to have get a financial, a very generous financial settlement from Louis, you know, to the point that she was able to keep all her properties and she was able to keep the rights of the songs that she co-produced and co-wrote with him. So I mean, she was a smart, educated businesswoman. So she got what she thought, you know, felt that she was due. She was able to keep her properties and live the standard of living that she was accustomed to as a artist and she actually was smart enough to make sure that she owns the rights to her music, which a lot of artists did not do. So she was kind of ahead of her time. It seemed very much ahead of her time.
Speaker 1:
After a while she kind of wanted to try another venture, so to speak. So she decided to become a fashion designer you know she was the one who recreated and become a fashion designer. You know she was the one who recreated and styled her ex-husband Louis. So I mean, she figured you know that she can use that as to her advantage. And actually Louis was continued to be one of her customers even though they were, you know, divorced. He still respected her enough and recognized her talent and her gift of styling. So he was her, remained her, one of her customers.
Speaker 1:
On July 6th of 1971, louis Armstrong had passed away, and so it was like six weeks later she was playing at a concert, you know, and played in tribute, you know, tribute concert in memory of him, and she suffered from a massive heart attack and she died. So they died six weeks apart. So, even though Louis had most of the success between them, it was actually Lillian who was behind his success. She was the one who actually pushed him and elevated him to where he became. But she wasn't as well known but she did contribute to a lot and she was one of the first female jazz artists in the early jazz genre and she was one of a talented, educated woman in her day. So that was Lillian Harden Armstrong.
Speaker 1:
All right, I hope you enjoyed that little piece. Next week I'm going to be talking about another artist which I've never heard of, about another artist which I've never heard of. His name was Jack Teagarden, so this will be interesting. This is episode seven for next week. So stay tuned for next week and thank you for listening tonight and again. If you want to help donate to keep the podcast going, just click on buymeacoffeecom, backslash more wine and music and make a donation, and this will help keep the podcast and the content going All right. So, guys, enjoy your Friday night and enjoy the rest of your weekend. Have a good night. Bye, thank you.