Toms River Native Realizes Dream With Armstrong Book

Another writer might be tempted to envy Ricky Riccardi, lifelong Toms River resident who, at just 31, has published a book about his favorite subject. “What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong's Later Years” was released in June.

But Riccardi only realized his dream after countless hours of blood, sweat and tears – and many rejection letters. To support himself while shopping the book around, Riccardi worked for four years with his father's painting company, Riccardi & Sons of this town; he was driving a truck between jobs in 2008 when his agent called to tell him Pantheon Books was offering a book deal.

By the time the book was released, Riccardi had spent about half his life immersing himself in everything Armstrong. He recalls first hearing Armstrong's music as a 15-year-old student at Toms River East High School.

“When I first heard Louis Armstrong's music that he made in the 1950s, it just kind of turned me upside down,” Riccardi said. “The last 20 years of Louis Armstrong's life, he was considered an Uncle Tom by many and his later stuff was denigrated. But that was my favorite period.”

To get a complete picture of Armstrong's post-World War II life and career, Riccardi listened to all recordings he could get his hands on and delved deeper than perhaps anyone else ever had into Armstrong's complex relationships with fans, critics, and society in the nation's pre- and post-civil rights eras.

“One of my goals was to get people listening to his music again,” Riccardi said – and to knock down misconceptions that had built up around the musical icon with the huge smile.

Contrary to what some African-Americans considered betrayal by Armstrong, “he was a pioneer in breaking down barriers of race,” Riccardi said.

Invaluable to the jazz historian author were tapes Armstrong started making of himself in 1950. Over the next couple of decades, until his death in 1971, Armstrong entertained audiences around the world in collaboration with other jazz greats. He also recorded his most memorable hits – including the one after which Riccardi named his book, “Mack the Knife” and “Hello, Dolly!”

In recorded conversations, Armstrong talked about what was going on behind the scenes. “He knew the tapes would be valuable someday,” Riccardi said. “It's the closest I will ever come to being able to interview him.”

Riccardi found he genuinely liked Armstrong – the man – as much as he was in awe of Armstrong the musician and performer extraordinaire.

“I easily could have come across something I didn't like about him,” Riccardi said. “But he was very down to earth, and what he had to endure was incredible.”

Riccardi has produced a well-documented, extremely readable book that even the most casual jazz enthusiast will relish and fans of biopics will enjoy, too.

The book started as a 125-page research paper Riccardi wrote in the honors program at Ocean County College. After getting a bachelor's degree in journalism at Rutgers University in Newark, Riccardi went on to get a master's degree in jazz history and research; he wrote 300 more pages on Armstrong as his thesis.

Riccardi figured he would teach jazz history, but quickly realized those jobs are few and far between. Painting for his dad allowed him to listen to Louis Armstrong's music night and day on an iPod.

“Then I would come home and blog about it” at “The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong” (http://dippermouth.blogspot.com/), he said.

“It ended up really being ideal for me,” Riccardi said.

To say the least, it's been an exciting year for Riccardi. He has his dream job as archivist for the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens, N.Y. He and wife Margaret (a chemistry teacher at Toms River High School North) welcomed their second daughter, Melody, in May.

“If it was a boy, I had my wife's permission to name her Louis,” Riccardi said. They also have 2-year-old Ella (named for Ella Fitzgerald).

Riccardi said his book release has opened up even more avenues for him.

“I've had a growing reputation as a Louis Armstrong nut from New Jersey,” Riccardi said. “But with the worldwide availability of the book, I've gotten emails from all over the world from people who have been inspired by Armstrong.”

Riccardi is not done yet – he said there's enough information that ended up on the cutting-room floor to write another Armstrong book. He also is reminded occasionally of the long road he took to get to this point. At a book-signing in November, a lady asked him if he used to paint houses; it turns out he had painted her's.

“What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong's Later Years” is available for $28.95 at Barnes & Noble in Howell or at Amazon.com.