Heart Full of Rhythm by Ricky Riccardi

Author:Ricky Riccardi
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2020-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

16

“A Solid Man for Comedy”

May 1938–December 1939

Joe Glaser moved into his new office in the RKO building at 1270 Sixth Avenue in Manhattan in May 1938, still technically a part of Rockwell-O’Keefe, Inc., but now operating as Joe Glaser Inc. As soon as his contract expired on August 1, he went out on his own, having “had a peeve on with R-O’K office for some time now.”1 This got a small paragraph notice in Variety, but it garnered a huge headline in the Pittsburgh Courier, acknowledging Glaser’s power in the world of black show business.

Glaser was serving as personal representative to Louis Armstrong, first and foremost, but also bandleaders Andy Kirk, Noble Sissle, Willie Bryant, and Claude Hopkins and two other top trumpeters, Oran “Hot Lips” Page and Roy Eldridge. Page was an engaging singer and a dynamic trumpeter with a true affinity for the blues, but he would never replace Armstrong in Glaser’s eyes or those of the American public. Reviewing his first Decca single, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle wrote, “A miniature Louis Armstrong comes out of Harlem in the shape of ‘Hot Lips’ Page, whose trumpet playing and vocalizing show the influence, but not the excellence, of the original ‘Satchelmouth.’ ”2 Armstrong continued to support the fiery Roy Eldridge, sending him a congratulatory telegram after hearing his 1937 recording of “After You’ve Gone,” but Eldridge, too, wouldn’t overtake Armstrong in Glaser’s plans, much to his frustration. Still, with Red Allen in Armstrong’s trumpet section and Eldridge and Page under his representation, Glaser was now representing three of Armstrong’s greatest black disciple/rivals. His influence could also still be felt on numerous white trumpeters, namely Bunny Berigan and Harry James, the latter performing a snippet of Armstrong’s “Shine” solo at Benny Goodman’s Carnegie Hall concert in January 1938. “I still think Louie is the father of them all,” James wrote in August 1938.3

However, none of these trumpet men had quite the personality and pure natural comedic ability as Armstrong. Comedy had been an important part of Armstrong’s life since he first heard Bert Williams’s records when he was still a child in New Orleans. He continued collecting Williams’s records and learning his routines, which paid off when Decca allowed him to record two of Williams’s “Elder Eatmore” sermons in full, each one lasting nearly four and a half minutes. It’s doubtful the recording sold many copies but it’s still a fine example of Armstrong’s acting and comedic ability, as well as his ultimate public tribute to one of the first great black stars of the 20th century. Armstrong’s most graphic private tribute to Williams came in a 1953 conversation at home with George Avakian, when he said, “Like Bert Williams, if that son-of-a-bitch was here right now, I’d walk in that room and suck his dick, I guess. I’m just that thrilled to be with him. . . . But that’s how much I think of Bert Williams, see what I mean?”4

One week later, Armstrong traveled to Hollywood to appear in

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