“Louis Armstrong + The Jewish Family In New Orleans, La., The Year Of 1907” (March 31, 1969-1970)

Abstract Armstrong refers to this extraordinary document as a “book,” clearly signaling his desire that it be published. He began writing it while recovering from a life-threatening illness at New York’s Beth Israel Hospital, inspired, apparently, by his doctor Gary Zucker, who had just sung a Russian lullaby that Armstrong recognized from childhood. Armstrong first learned the lullaby from a Jewish family for whom he worked. He dedicates his book to his longtime manager Joe Glaser, another Jew who figured prominently in his life. Thus, the document provides a poignant flashback to the author’s positive experiences with Jews in childhood, through his career, and now at the end of his life. Catalyzing his memory is a song. Armstrong copies the song’s lyrics four times over the course of the document, testifying to its importance.