One of our most popular posts on this site was a page-by-page examination of a scrapbook Alpha Smith–Louis Armstrong’s then-mistress and future-wife–maintained between 1926 and 1931. It ended with some clippings documenting Armstrong’s time in California, which we covered separately here. But by that point, Alpha filled up her first scrapbook, necessitating the purchase of a second, larger one, “The Ideal Scrap Book”–here’s the cover:
“The Ideal Scrapbook” is packed to the gills, sometimes with clippings overlapping on top each other. When we had Armstrong’s scrapbooks digitizied by the Northeast Document Conservation Center in 2016, they did an amazing job of scanning each individual article. To celebrate the 95th anniverary of Armstrong’s activities in the action-packed year of 1931, we’ve decided to share the complete contents of this precious volume, though we’re breaking it into two parts because this scrapbook alone is responsible for over 150 individual files!
Also, for some reason, Louis and Alpha mostly populated the book from back to front; we were just going to share it in the original order, but it confusingly opens with the events of December 1931 and ends in the spring of 1931. Thus, we’ve made the executive decision to shake up the original order and present the clippings in as close to chronological order as we can (not always possible because some pages have clippings spanning different dates…but trust me, it’s still better than going in reverse order).
Thus, since Louis and Alpha’s last scrapbook ended in California, it only makes sense to begin this deep dive with some clippings covering Armstrong’s legendary 1930-1931 reun at Sebastian’s Cotton Club in Culver City. Here’s the first page, with various ads, including one with a publicity photo from the lost film Ex-Flame:
Here’s a close-up of the ad for College Nite at Sebastian’s Cotton Club:
Going backwards a bit, the top ad is mostly gone, but the article below it is from August 29, 1930:
That same Frankye M. Whitlock article appears on this page, along with two others from 1930 and 1931:
On the other side of the page, an article on “Louie” Armstrong from November 4, 1930:
I love this “World’s Greatest” publicity photo from 1930:
“A Letter from Hollywood” dates from February 1931 and praises Armstrong’s Cotton Club run. Louis and Alpha didn’t save any clipping commenting on why the run ended–Armstrong was arrested for possession of marijuana–but they did save one recapping what happened to him soon after his arrival in Chicago: he was threatened by gangsters at the Showboat Cafe!
This next page has lots going on, including a Variety review of OKeh’s coupling of “Dear Old Southland” and “Weather Bird”; another article about Armstrong’s popularity at Sebastian’s Cotton Club; another clipping about Ex-Flame; a notice about Armstrong’s “fond farewell” to Chicago in May 1931; an article about Milton Weil being arrested for attempting to “shake down” Armstrong along with two other gangsters at the Showboat in Chicago; and the first part of Armstrong’s touring itinerary from January 1932:
Underneath the top article was this one from the Black press spotlighting Variety‘s positive coverage of “Armstrong’s Hot Tooting”:
Here’s a close-up of the Milton Weil arrest article:
Indeed, Armstrong left the Showboat in Chicago after being accosted by gangsters and headed to Detroit, where he played Jean Goldkette’s Gray Gardens and Blue Lantern venues (the clippings at the bottom of the page were the ones shared on the top of this post from California 1930-1931–doing our best to keep it mostly chronological):
Here’s the Blue Lantern ad that was obscured above, which took place on Decoration Day, May 30, 1931:
The timeline begins to blur on these next few pages. “Celebrities Attract Dialers” is an article from 1930 with a reference to “Lou Armstrong.” The article about “Armstrong Back at the Met” is a reference to a screening of Ex-Flame in February 1931. On the bottom left is a short blurb about Armstrong’s broadcasts from the Showboat in Chicago. And on the right, an early article about the next stop on Armstrong’s itinerary; the Suburban Gardens in New Orleans. The article mentions that becaus eof union problems, it was possible that Armstrong would only spend a week there, but he would end up spending the summer:
Chicago and New Orleans are the stories of the next page with coverage of Armstrong’s finale at the Savoy Ballroom in May 1931, a review of his radio broadcasts from the Showboat, a short recap of Armstrong’s reception at the Suburban Gardens in the New Orleans States, and the first mention of Armstrong buying new uniforns for what would become his baseball team, the “Secret 9”:
Walter Winchell praises “Just a Gigolo” and there’s another ad for Ex-Flame on the big screen in February 1931, but we’ve placed this page here for the short article at the bottom on Armstrong’s return to New Orleans:
Here’s the Winchell column in full:
Here’s some excellent coverage of the Suburban Gardens run, including a rare ad:
A close-up of the Suburban Gardens advertisement:
This next page contains one of the first major profiles of Armstrong to ever appear in print, with details about the Colored Waif’s Home, Armstrong’s early jobs in New Orleans, the roles of King Oliver and Lil Hardin Armstrong (she was with him New Orleans–but so was Alpha; Louis and Lil separated at the end of his time back home):
More on Armstrong’s return home:
The article on the upper right of the above page was back from Armstrong’s days in Los Angeles, spotlighting his nightly KFVD radio broadcasts:
And here’s a closer look at the Surburban Gardens ad:
More from New Orleans, with a Sebastian’s Cotton Club ad from Halloween 1930 thrownin for good measure:
Here’s a closer look at the article that’s obscured above, detailing the drama with the New Orleans musicians unions:
It was always a big deal when Armstrong was mentioned in Walter Winchell’s column, so here’s another one from August 14, 1931, praising “I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead You Rascal You.” The other stuff on this page is gold and will be spotlighted below:
First up, this exciting “DANCE!” ad for an event that was supposed to take place for Black audiences on August 31 (the Suburban Gardens catered to whites only), but was canceled by local authorities under mysterious circumstances:
This is a real gem: an advertisement for one of the few games played by Armstrong’s “Secret Nine” baseball team!
Joe Lindsey was one of Armstrong’s close friends from his younger days in New Orleans and played drums in one of the first bands Armstrong ever co-led, the Brown Skin Jazz Band. Lindsey gave up his career as a drummer, but reconnected with Armstrong during this 1931 trip home and became his right hand man for the next several months. Here’s an article about “Satchel Mouth” Lindsey, an ad for an appearance in which Lindsey was billed alongside Armstrong, and a preview of Armstrong’s next stop in Houston:
Here’s that notice for Armstrong and Lindsey appearing at the Page Hotel on August 16, 1931, the same day the Secret Nine played in the afternoon:
Now this next page is extra special. Early on during his return home, Armstrong made time to stop at the Colored Waif’s Home, now known as the Municipal Boys’ Home. Here is a letter by Superintendent Robert B. McElree thanking Louis for the radio he gifted the boys, stressing that he was the hero of so many of them:
Armstrong returned to the Municpal Boys’ Home in August and bought the brass band all new instruments–here’s an article about that act of generosity, along with a photo:
The hits just keep on coming! In November 1931, Armstrong recorded a hilarious version of “The Lonseome Road” in which he referenced a “Louis Armstrong Special Cigar”–that was a real thing that was manufactured during his time home! Here’s the proof:
A snapshot of August activities, with “Shine” getting a good review from John Edgar Weir while Armstrong was honored by the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club and therw out the first pitch for the Secret Nine:
Another large ad in the Louisiana Weekly for the August 31 dance that never happened:
As we hit September, Armstrong was slated to play an all-Black dance in Witchita on September 17 and was keeping tabs on Stepin Fetchit’s trip to Europe on this page:
The Secret Nine got beaten badly in one of their only games (Armstrong later said it was because they refused to slide and soil their new uniforms!), described here alongside ads for the Suburban Gardens (love the names of his most popular records in the cartoon) and the Coliseum in Tulsa:
A closer look at the “Big Battle of Bands” in Tulsa:
More glimpses at Armstrong’s southwest tour of September 1931, opening agin with the Coliseum in Tulsa:
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram advertised Armstrong’s dance at the Recreation Building, billing Armstrong’s as the “Highest Paid Colored Band in the World”:
A recap of Armstrong’s appearance in Houston with more biographical information about his early days:
The Chicago Defender’s Walter Barnes Jr. vouches for Armstrong as “the greatest cornetist in the world” in this piece, written during the time of the Suburban Gardens:
Another packed page; some of this will be unpacked below, but notice Armstrong clipping out the article about the August 31 dance in New Orleans that was canceled:
Article detailing a dinner where Armstrong the special guest on August 24, 1931, with music by Oscar “Papa” Celestin’s Tuxedo Jazz Band and the Collegiate Ramblers; Louis got up and sang “I Surrender Dear”:
Here’s some big news that will be the focus of part two of this series; while Armstrong was touring the Deep South in September 1931, his manager Johnny Collins booked up him on a high paying vaudeville tour on the RKO circuit, beginning in October. Below, another blurb about the Louis Armstrong Special Cigar:
Word of Armstrong’s RKO tour hit the newspapers in Memphis, with rumors that Armstrong was going to then head to Europe; that wouldn’t happen until July 1932, but it’s possible, even probable, that Johnny Collins was already putting out feelers to make such a tour a reality:
More on the upcoming RKO tour:
Now this is a biggie: one of the most famous Armstrong stories from this period was about the time he and the entire band got arrested for riding into Arkansas on their way to Memphis with Mary Collins, Johnny Collins’s white wife, on the bus. Collins had to call the police station to get them out of jail in time. The next morning, Armstrong performed for the Memphis police department and dedicated “I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead You Rascal You” to the chief of police! Here’s an article about the arrest told in a very one-sided manner:
Louis was a hit in Texas:
From the bottom of the page, more on Houston, plus an article about Louis booked at a hotel in Shreveport:
A close-up on the Houston story:
Advertisement for Armstrong’s “Farewell Frolic” at the Winter Garden in Beaumont, Texas, another article on the canceled dance in New Orleans, and a program for Armstrong’s appearance at the Ace Theater in Memphis on October 7, 1931 (we’ll revisit that later):
Another glimpse of the Winter Garden ad:
Back to the early September tour of Texas:
More from Texas:
A great ad for Armstrong in Dallas on September 15:
More on the Dallas show at the Automobile Building:
Another ad for Dallas; remember, this was Armstrong’s first time playing in many of these cities, so he and Alpha must have been excited every time they saw his name in print:
A 15-minute radio broadcast on KGKO in Witchita:
Over to Oklahoma City to play for three nights at the Show Boat:
Going behind some of the above clippings, here’s an ad for “Lewis” in San Antonio at Shadowland:
Clipping about Louis’s arrival in Memphis, paired with some more clippings from San Antonio:
Another radio broadcast that aired at 2 p.m. live from San Antonio:
Notice for the above broadcast on WOAI, as well as another mention of Armstrong’s upcoming vaudeville tour. And I haven’t been able to source it, but kudos to anonymous writer who observed, “Have you noticed how many local radio orchestras and their vocalists have tried to copy the ‘technique’ of Louie Armstrong and his band?”
Now these next pages are pretty historic and require a bit of explanation. Armstrong was embroiled in a manager’s war in 1931. Tommy Rockwell had taken over his career in 1929, but Johnny Collins muscled his way in while Armstrong was in California in 1930. When Armstrong returned to Chicago in 1931, it was Rockwell and Harlem nightclub owner Connie Immerman who sent gangsters after Armstrong to threaten him at gunpoint to return to New York and Rockwell’s supervision. Collins kept Armstrong on the road until finally, in the summer of 1931, Armstrong (through Collins) and Rockwell sued each other. Rockwell reached out to numerous figures and “asked them to prepare affidavits to the effect that Armstrong’s method of leading a band was special, unique and extraordinary,” according to Ed Sullivan’s October 9, 1931 column (reprinted below). This put Collins in a bind as he had to fight Rockwell by proving that Armstrong was not special, unique, and extraordinary! After a tense court battle, a judge allowed Armstrong to remain under Collins’s stewardship, but they would have to pay Rockwell $150 a week. Sullivan reported that Collins got the last laugh by using the affadavits Rockwell collected about Armstrong’s unique talents in publicity campaigns wherever the trumpeter was due to appear!
With the backstory out of the way, here are the original affadavits! First up, “The King of Jazz” Paul Whiteman:
Next, Jack Kapp of Brunswick Records, who would later oversee Armstrong’s recordings on his own Decca label:
Ralph Wonders, manager of CBS’s artists’ bureau:
And finally, music publisher and manager of Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway, Irving Mills:
The Ed Sullivan column I quoted above appears on this next page, along with John Edgar Weir naming Armstrong’s “When It’s Sleepy Time Down South” as one of “The Month’s Biggest Hits”:
We already shared this visual earlier as part of a full page of clippings, but here it is cropped as we approach Armstrong’s October visit to Memphis:
Here’s the inside of the program; we can assume it was at one of these events that Armstrong played “You Rascal You” for the police department!
More on Armstrong’s time in Memphis, mentioning a “rendezvous” at the Ritz Cafe:
And here is the menu for that special party at the Ritz, with each member of Armstrong’s band getting a dish named after him!
When Armstrong was asked about the racial climate in America in the 1950s, he always made a point to that it was better than it used to be, specifically pointing out that Memphis was the worst. The segregation was pretty severe, but the norm for the day; here’s an ad for Armstrong performing at a “Ramble” “For White Patrons”:
Armstrong concluded this crazy portion of his life with a dance at the Pythian Hall and Cotton Club in St. Louis on October 14. Notice the full band personnel listed, along with New Orleans homeboys Joe Lindsey and Professor Sherman Cooke, and girlfriend Alpha Smith–as “private secretary”!
While in St. Louis, Armstrong began his major vaudeville tour–which will be the focus of Part 2 of our look at “The Ideal Scrapbook.” Come back in a few days for that one–thanks for reading!