THE TENNESSE CHOCOLATE DROPS

Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong (4 de marzo de 1909 - 30 de julio de 2003) miembro de un grupo de afroamericanos y músico de country blues, que tocaba violín, mandolina y guitarra y cantaba. 

William Howard Taft Armstrong nació en Dayton, Tennessee, y creció en LaFollette, Tennessee. Cuando era un joven adolescente aprendió a tocar el violín y se unió a una banda dirigida por Blind Roland Martin y su hermano Carl Martin. Realizaron una gira por los Estados Unidos interpretando una amplia gama de música, desde canciones de trabajo y espirituales a través las populares canciones  de Tin Pan Alley y otros temas en idiomas extranjeros. Armstrong, su hermano Roland Armstrong y Carl Martin, conocidos como los Tennessee Chocolate Drops, grabaron para Vocalion Records en el St. James Hotel en Knoxville, Tennessee, el 3 de abril de 1930. Añadiendo al guitarrista Ted Bogan, la banda realizó una gira como parte de un espectáculo de medicine show, muy habituales por aquellos tiempos  y músicos de blues  como Big Bill Broonzy y Memphis Minnie. Como Martin, Bogan y Armstrong, también actuaron en la Feria Mundial de 1933 en Chicago. En 1934 Armstrong y Bogan grabaron "State Street Rag" y "Ted's Stomp" para Bluebird Records, con Armstrong utilizando el nombre artístico Louie Bluie, que lo había cogido de la sugerencica de un fan suyo

Las primeras grabaciones de Armstrong son country rags o blues, pero este no era su único repertorio como intérprete. Según su acompañante temporal ,el escritor Elijah Wald, su primer tema fue el estándar de Gershwin "Lady Be Good", y el repertorio de su grupo incluía una amplia gama de canciones exitosas de la época, incluyendo canciones italianas, polacas, mexicanas y country. que jugaría para satisfacer las demandas cambiantes de su público. 

Después de servir en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, Armstrong se mudó a Detroit y trabajó en la industria automotriz hasta 1971. Con un renacimiento del interés en la música afroamericana antigua, Martin, Bogan y Armstrong se reunieron. La banda grabó, actuó en clubes y festivales y realizó una gira por Sudamérica patrocinada por el Departamento de Estado de EE. UU. Tocaron  juntos hasta la muerte de Martin en 1979. 

Por esta época, Armstrong y Bogan fueron contactados por el cineasta Terry Zwigoff, un fanático de sus  grabaciónes principalmente de  "State Street Rag". El interés de Zwigoff en Armstrong finalmente culminó  en un documental de una hora, Louie Bluie, lanzado en 1985. Fue el tema del documental de 2002 Sweet Old Song.

Continuó tocando con una generación más joven de músicos y lanzó su primer álbum en solitario, Louie Bluie, en colaboración con Ralph Armstrong y Ray Kamalay en 1995. El álbum le valió un W.C. Premio Handy Blues. 

Armstrong también fue un pintor experto, diseñando portadas de álbumes para su grupo y ocasionalmente para otros artistas, incluido Wald. También hizo collares , limpiadores de pipa y  diferentes objetos . 

Murió en Boston, Massachusetts, a los 94 años, después de un ataque al corazón. 

El Festival Louie Bluie, que se celebra cada año en el Parque Estatal Cove Lake, cerca de LaFollette, hogar de la infancia de Armstrong, celebra su música y legado. 

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The Tennessee Chocolate Drops featuring the Armstrong family. Howard "Louie Bluie" is on the fiddle. The bass is homemade. That's how they did things back then.

Howard Armstrong:Violin

Carl Martin:Banjo

Roland Armstrong:Stand-Up Bass

Recorded at the St. James Hotel, Knoxville, TN. April 3, 1930

Originally issued on the 1930 single (Vocalion 1517), reissued on (Vocalion 5472) (78 RPM)

(The 5472 issue has them billed as "Tennessee Trio")

This recording taken from the 1994 CD "Carl Martin (1930-1936)/Willie "61" Blackwell(1941)"

Video by randomandrare 

Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong (March 4, 1909 – July 30, 2003) was an African-American string band and country blues musician, who played fiddle, mandolin, and guitar and sang. He was also a notable visual artist and raconteur.

William Howard Taft Armstrong was born in Dayton, Tennessee, and grew up in LaFollette, Tennessee. As a young teenager he taught himself to play the fiddle and joined a band led by Blind Roland Martin and his brother Carl Martin. They toured the United States performing a wide range of music, from work songs and spirituals through popular Tin Pan Alley tunes and foreign-language songs. Armstrong, his brother Roland Armstrong, and Carl Martin, billed as the Tennessee Chocolate Drops, recorded for Vocalion Records at the St. James Hotel in Knoxville, Tennessee, on April 3, 1930. Adding guitarist Ted Bogan, the band toured as part of a medicine show and backed blues musicians such as Big Bill Broonzy and Memphis Minnie. As Martin, Bogan and Armstrong, they also performed at the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago. In 1934 Armstrong and Bogan recorded "State Street Rag" and "Ted's Stomp" for Bluebird Records, with Armstrong using the stage name Louie Bluie, which had been given to him by a fan.

Armstrong's early recordings are country rags or blues, but this was not his sole repertoire as a performer. According to his sometime accompanist, the writer Elijah Wald, his early theme song was the Gershwin standard "Lady Be Good", and his group's repertoire included a wide range of hit songs of the period, including Italian, Polish, Mexican and country songs, which he would play to meet the varying demands of his audience.

After serving in World War II, Armstrong moved to Detroit and worked in the auto industry until 1971. With a revival of interest in old-time African-American music, Martin, Bogan and Armstrong reunited. The band recorded, performed at clubs and festivals and went on a tour of South America sponsored by the U.S. State Department. They played together until Martin's death in 1979.

Around this time, both Armstrong and Bogan were contacted by the filmmaker Terry Zwigoff, a fan of their recording "State Street Rag". Zwigoff's interest in Armstrong eventually blossomed into a one-hour documentary, Louie Bluie, released in 1985. He was the subject of the 2002 documentary Sweet Old Song.

He continued to perform with a younger generation of musicians and released his first solo album, Louie Bluie, in collaboration with Ralphe Armstrong and Ray Kamalay in 1995. The album earned him a W.C. Handy Blues Award.

Armstrong was also an expert painter, designing album covers for his group and occasionally for other artists, including Wald. He also made necklaces from beads, pipe cleaners and found objects. He spoke several languages.

He died in Boston, Massachusetts, aged 94, following a heart attack.

The Louie Bluie Festival, held each year at Cove Lake State Park near Armstrong's childhood home of LaFollette, celebrates his music and legacy.