The Resume

(February 3, 1898-August 27, 1971)
Born in Memphis, Tennessee
Birth name was Lilian Hardin
Second wife of Louis Armstrong (1924-38)
Pianist, singer and songwriter
Member of Louis Armstrong's Hot Five
Wrote the songs 'Struttin' with Some Barbecue,' 'Don't Jive Me' 'Brown Girl,' 'Oriental Swing,' 'Two Deuces' and 'Just for a Thrill'

Why she might be annoying:

She claimed to have graduated from Fisk University as valedictorian, but she actually had dropped out after one year.
When she got a job performing in a cabaret, she told her mother that she was playing at a dance studio.
A biographer of Louis Armstrong wrote that her piano solos on his records 'range in quality from passable to embarrassing.'

Why she might not be annoying:

She arranged for Louis' first solo concerts and first solo recording contract.
Without her prodding, Louis might have been content to spend his career playing second trumpet in King Oliver's band.
She said, 'I was in love with him and I wanted him to be a great man.'
Less than two months after Louis' death, she suffered a fatal heart attack while performing at a memorial concert for him.

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 68]
• College Drop Outs
• Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do
• I Died in 1971 (Ranked: 73)
• I Died While Performing
• Jazz Artists
• My Song was Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (Ranked: 2007)
• Profiles 42501-42750 (Ranked: 42644)
• We Died on the Same Day (Ranked: 19710827)

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 70.0% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 17 Votes: 47.06% Annoying