This is Eric Glass on this American life.
Sometimes we just show up somewhere, turn on our tape recorders and see what happens.
If you can't get seven cars in 12 days, you gotta look yourself in the mirror and say, holy, what are you kidding me?
Like this car dealership trying to sell its monthly quota of cars and it is not going well.
I just don't want one balloon to a car.
Balloon the whole freaking place so it.
Looks like a circus.
Real LIFE stories every week.
This is FRESH air.
I'm Terry Gross.
Here's a question for you.
Who do you think was the first black pop star?
The answer is Louis Armstrong, according to one of the leading experts on Armstrong's life and music, my guest Ricky Riccardi.
He's just published his third book about Armstrong.
This one is about Armstrong's early years, his rough childhood, his first recordings with other bands and his famous first recordings with his own group, the Hot 5 and Hot 7.
As Riccardi points out, those two early groups that Armstrong led recorded between 1926 and 28.
Over the course of 25 months, those recordings have been studied by up and coming musicians around the world because they provide the foundational language necessary to master the art of improvisation for instrumental soloists and vocalists.
Riccardi says Armstrong's innovations as both a trumpeter and vocalist set the entire soundtrack of the 20th century in motion.
Riccardi has been the director of research collections at the Louis Armstrong house Museum since 2009.
It's the world's largest archive focusing on one musician.