Lil Hardin Armstrong – Jazz legend

Early Life

Lil Hardin Armstrong was born in Memphis, TN in 1898. Her grandmother was a former slave who moved the family to Memphis by mule-drawn wagon. Lil was introduced to music early through hymns, spirituals and classical piano music.

Lil taught herself piano at age 5. Her mother had her begin piano lessons in third grade with a school teacher. She later went on to Mrs. Hooke’s School of Music. Her college education was at Fisk University a school for African Americans in Nashville, TN. Fisk was responsible for teaching Lil a more traditional approach to the piano.

Chicago

After college, Lil moved with her mother and step-father to Chicago. Due to her education at Fisk, she was proficient at reading music which helped her land her first job as a music demonstrator at Jones Music where she made $3 a week.

While at Jones she was seen by bandleader Lawrence Duhe. Duhe offered Lil $22.50 a week to play with his band. Lil told people she was playing at a dance school because she knew her mother would not approve of her playing in a cabaret.

Dreamland

It wasn’t long before Duhe and his band began playing at Chicago’s prime nightspot, Dreamland. At Dreamland Lil met Alberta Hunter and Ollie Powers. Later King Oliver’s Creole Band replaced Duhe’s band and asked Lil to stay on to play the piano. Lil was playing with Oliver’s band in 1921 when they received a 6-month gig in San Francisco. At the end of the 6 months, Lil returned to Chicago even though the rest of the band went on to Los Angeles.

Returning to Chicago and Dreamland, Lil picked up her career playing with bandleader Mae Bradley. It was here that Lil met and married Jimmy Johnson a singer from Washington, DC. Their marriage ended in divorce a short time later.

During her marriage to Johnson, Oliver’s band returned to Dreamland with Lil at the piano. King Oliver’s Creole Band received high acclaim at Dreamland. Oliver wanted to hire a 2nd coronet player and called on a young musician named Louie Armstrong to join the band. Armstrong was making a name for himself in his hometown of New Orleans and considered Oliver (Papa Oliver) a mentor and was thrilled to join the band.

Louis Armstrong

Lil’s first impression of Armstrong was that he was “too country” for Chicago. His clothing and hairstyle did not speak to his new “big city” job and surroundings. Lil helped him to dress and style in a more sophisticated manner and a romance developed. Many of the boys in the band were surprised by the romance as they had tried to catch her attention without success. Lil helped Armstrong obtain a divorce after a long separation. Lil and Armstrong were married in 1924.

Lil saw his amazing talent and convinced him to go out on his own. Armstrong had been happy playing next to his idol, but Lil knew he had too much talent to play a secondary role. Just a few months after their marriage Armstrong got an offer to play with a band in New York City. Armstrong went, but Lil stayed in Chicago to continue at Dreamland. When Oliver left Dreamland, Lil started a band of her own and continued to play there. A year later Lil prepared for Armstrong’s return to Chicago by hanging a huge sign that read “World’s Greatest Trumpet Player”.

Hot Five

Armstrong was approached by Richard Jones and Okeh Records to record what became the “Hot Five” recordings with Lil at the piano. Lil assembled the group, one of which included her husband Louis Armstrong. Convinced by Richard Jones that Louis had more visibility and connected to a wider audience, Lil agreed to go double billing with Louis on the recordings. When the album came out, Lil found that all credit had been given to Louis and her name appeared only as one of the musicians in the group.  Lil went on to record 5 more times for Okeh. She also recorded with Columbia Records.

By the late 1920’s Lil and Armstrong had grown apart both personally and professionally. Armstrong got a new piano player and Lil hired a new coronet player. They separated in 1931.

Later Career

During the 1930’s Lil lead an all-girl band and then later, a co-ed band that broadcast nationally over NBC radio network. She also recorded a series for Decca Records as a swing vocalist as well as playing piano for other singers.

The 1940’s found her performing mostly as a soloist. Late in the 1940’s Lil tried to leave show business to become a tailor. Even though the bespoke suit she made for Louis Armstrong was met with rave reviews, it was her piano talents everyone wanted. She realized she would never be able to leave the music business.

By the 1950’s Lil had returned to her home in Chicago. Even though she made a trip to play in Europe, most of her performing occurred in Chicago. Among the many artists she played with were Red Saunders, Little Brother Montgomery, Oscar Brown, Jr. and Joe Williams. She also recorded with Riverside Records.

Chicago’s Living Legends of Jazz

In 1961 Lil participated in a Riverside project called Chicago: Living Legends where she played for Alberta Hunter whom she had met years before at the Dreamland. This project led to an NBC network special and then later to a recording titled Chicago: and All That Jazz with Verve Records.

The autobiography

By 1962 Lil was starting her auto-biography but decided to put it on hold because she didn’t want it to harm Louise Armstrong.

When Armstrong died in 1971 it upset Lil horribly. She made the trip to New York to attend his funeral and ride in the family car. She had decided to return to her book after his death. A month after the funeral Lil was performing at a Memorial concert for Louis when she collapsed at the piano and died on route to the hospital. After her funeral, it was found that all her letters and the manuscript for her book had disappeared from her home.

Lil Hardin Armstrong’s additional accomplishments

Additional accomplishments include a post-doctoral degree earned from the New York College School of Music in 1929.

Lil Hardin Armstrong composed many songs including Don’t Jive Me, Two Deuces, Knee Drops, Doin’ the SuziQ, Bad Boy also recorded by Ringo Starr in 1978 and Just for a Thrill recorded by Ray Charles in 1969 which became a big hit for him. Oriental Swing was revised and recorded in 2012 by Perov Stelar under the name Booty Swing. It went on to appear in the movie Rock the Kasbah with Bill Murray.

You can listen to the original Oriental Swing recorded by Lil Hardin in 1937 by clicking the link below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMDBluSMUas