12 Years After First Pressing, Armstrong Daughter Reissues Memoir for 125th Birthday

Sharon Preston-Folta has reissued her memoir, 'Little Satchmo: Living in the Shadow of My Father, Louis Daniel Armstrong,' to mark the 125th anniversary of the jazz musician's birth. The updated edition, published by St. Petersburg Press, revisits the decades-long secrecy surrounding her parentage and the financial support Armstrong provided to her and her mother.

Preston-Folta was born on June 24, 1955, to vaudeville dancer Lucille 'Sweets' Preston. Her mother began an affair with Armstrong in the early 1950s while both performed at Harlem's Cotton Club. Although Armstrong was legally married to Lucille Armstrong, he maintained a separate life with Sweets Preston and their daughter for roughly 16 years.

The jazz bandleader directed his manager to send monthly support payments to the family. He also purchased a house in Mount Vernon, New York, in November 1962, which Preston-Folta describes as the 12th year of the relationship. In a letter preserved in the book, Armstrong told Sweets to give Sharon a big kiss and promised to cover her college education expenses.

The relationship ended without marriage when Armstrong died in 1971. He was still legally married at the time of his death. Sweets Preston had expected Armstrong to leave his fourth wife to marry her, a belief Preston-Folta says stemmed from promises made during their time together in Harlem and Mount Vernon.

Preston-Folta first self-published the memoir in 2012, 41 years after Armstrong's death. The book was adapted into a documentary film that aired on PBS and won a Southeastern Emmy Award. The new edition updates the original text and changes the concluding letter from a message to her father to a letter addressed to her mother, who died in 2020 at age 98.

Sweets Preston initially opposed the book's publication. 'You were well taken care of, she said. Your father provided for you. I provided for you. You had a good life, and you have a good life now,' Preston-Folta recalls. The author argued that owning her legacy was necessary so the secret would not pass to her grandchildren.

The reissue timing aligns with the musician's 125th birthday. 'And, it turns out, this is the year of my father’s 125th birthday,' Preston-Folta said. She noted that the release offers an opportunity to upgrade the presentation and tie the book to the documentary.

Preston-Folta, a longtime Sarasota resident and former WUSF account executive, attempted to pursue a legal claim to her heritage. The effort came to nothing after Lucille Armstrong died in 1983, having previously signed a document stating her late husband had fathered no children. Preston-Folta says the legal process helped her process the hurt of not being acknowledged.

The book details the personal items Armstrong left for his daughter, including cards, signed photographs, and cassette tapes. Preston-Folta describes the experience of growing up with a famous father who remained a public secret. The memoir explores the shame and questions that arose from the family's unusual structure.

Preston-Folta worked as a consultant and voiceover artist before her time at WUSF. The updated memoir remains focused on the specific dynamics of her childhood and the financial and emotional support provided by Armstrong during the 1950s and 1960s.