Like almost all early Jazz musicians, Louis was from New Orleans. He started as a soloist for Henderson after marrying Lil Hardin. There are two kinds of music, the good and the bad. Doctors advised him not to play but Armstrong continued to practice every day in his Corona, Queens home, where he had lived with his fourth wife, Lucille, since 1943. Louis Armstrong, also known as the king of jazz was born on Augest 4th, 1901, in New Orleans Louisiana; he died July 6, 1971 in Corona Queens New York. Career highlights, compiled by the Louis Armstrong House Museum: Larkin states, "It is impossible to overstate Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong's importance in jazz." It has given me something to live for. He subsequently passed, so the duo contacted Armstrong in August 1967. In 1924, Armstrong married Hardin, who urged Armstrong to leave Oliver and try to make it on his own. Despite failing to make a new record for two years, Armstrong remained a fan favorite. With his amazing voice trumpet he created a band and made some records. A few weeks later after his birth his father leaves his mother alone with a family. Though he had finally spoken out after years of remaining publicly silent, he received criticism at the time from both Black and white public figures. They were always kind to me, Armstrong once reflected, [I] was just a little kid who could use a little word of kindness. Apart from monetary compensation, Armstrong was given a hot meal every evening and regular invitations to Karnofsky Shabbat dinners. For the first time, Armstrong was really able to demonstrate his unique voice during those recording sessions. He influenced other jazz musicians by his fearless trumpet styles and distinctive vocals. In recent years, Armstrong's alleged daughter, who now goes by the name Sharon Preston Folta, has publicized various letters between her and her father. He was also a frequent presence on radio, and often broke box-office records at the height of what is now known as the "Swing Era. How did Louis Armstrong influence others? ", Louis Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901, in New Orleans, Louisiana, in a neighborhood so poor that it was nicknamed "The Battlefield.". Heart and kidney problems forced him to stop performing in 1969. After a successful engagement in Las Vegas, Armstrong began taking engagements around the world, including in London and Washington, D.C. and New York (he performed for two weeks at New York's Waldorf-Astoria). Armstrong moved to Chicago to join Oliver's band in August 1922 and made his first recordings as a member of the group in the spring of 1923. She pushed her husband to cut ties with his mentor and join Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra, the top African American dance band in New York City at the time. In April, he reached the charts with his first vocal recording, "Big Butter and Egg Man," a duet with May Alix. Nobody did what Louis could do. When Armstrong returned to Chicago in 1935, he had no band, no engagements and no recording contract. His amazing technical abilities, the joy and spontaneity, and amazingly quick, inventive musical mind still dominate Jazz to this day. Personnel changed over the years but this remained Armstrongs main performing vehicle for the rest of his career. Louis Armstrong is considered a hero for many reasons. The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky are also on the faces of people going by. Released from the Waifs Home in 1914, Armstrong set his sights on becoming a professional musician. Satch Plays Fats, a tribute to Fats Waller, became a Top Ten LP for Columbia in October 1955, and Verve Records contracted Armstrong for a series of recordings with Ella Fitzgerald, beginning with the chart LP Ella and Louis in 1956. On New Years Eve 1912, he was arrested and sent to the Colored Waifs Home for Boys. He began following him and eventually Oliver became Armstrongs mentor. With the assistance of the jazz musicians, the music industry, Making his voice sound like a musical instrument and singing nonsense syllables with no words created Scat singing. Armstrong spent much of that year at home, but managed to continue practicing the trumpet daily. Finding Yourself, Dropping, Halfway. He was also a gifted singer, and his Since New Orleans style jazz known to man, it was one of the broadest genres of jazz. Louis Armstrongs significance and most famous songs In 1936, he became the first African American jazz musician to write an autobiography. While he still had to work odd jobs selling newspapers and hauling coal to the city's famed red-light district, Armstrong began earning a reputation as a fine blues player. They saw Armstrong's stage persona and music as old-fashioned and criticized him in the press. Legendary CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow followed Armstrong with a camera crew on some of his worldwide excursions, turning the resulting footage into a theatrical documentary, Satchmo the Great, released in 1957. As swing and jazz was dominant as the pop music of the early 20th century, his influence is also evident in the transition from swing and jump blues into rock and roll. Aint that stupid? Armstrong's daring vocal transformations of these songs completely changed the concept of popular singing in American popular music, and had lasting effects on all singers who came after him, including Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. In December of that year, he was called into the studio to record the title number for a Broadway show that hadn't opened yet: Hello, Dolly! Louis Armstrong was called "the single most important figure in the history of jazz" by Billboard magazine, a publication that tracks the recording industry. It started in New Orleans and over the years, stretched out throughout the whole United States. Armstrong returned to New York with his band for an engagement at Connie's Inn in Harlem in May 1929. Music historians recognize this as the first popular, mass-market scat ever recorded. The family treated Armstrong like a member, bought him his first trumpet, and encouraged his musical aspirations. 1 slot in May 1964, and knocking the Beatles off the top at the height of Beatlemania. Copy. When Armstrong saw this as well as white protesters hurling invective at the students he blew his top to the press, telling a reporter that President Dwight D. Eisenhower had "no guts" for letting Faubus run the country, and stating, "The way they are treating my people in the South, the government can go to hell.". Armstrong was featured nightly on Ain't Misbehavin', breaking up the crowds of (mostly white) theatergoers nightly. Louis Armstrong used to give away laxatives as gifts. Related. Glaser did just that; within a few months, Armstrong had a new big band and was recording for Decca Records. He attended Colored Waifs Home in 1913 for eighteen months. He influenced countless other musicians and helped to shape the course of jazz. Louis Armstrong was an outstanding jazz musician during the Harlem Renaissance Era. He took up work in Joe (King) Olivers house, doing chores in exchange for musical lessons, developing into a. Louis Armstrong is a man of many talents and skills known for creating a new environment, especially in his home town of New Orleans. Louis did his first performance on stage in 1930 to spread his Jazz style. Pillars of Life 3 y Related Why was jazz so important? Blessed with, Armstrong was born in New Orleans on August 4, 1901. In 1922, King Oliver sent for Armstrong to join his band in Chicago. Seems to me it ain't the world that's so bad but what we're doing to it, and all I'm saying is: see what a wonderful world it would be if only we'd give it a chance. St. Louis Cardinals prospect Jordan Walker tracks down a flyball during fielding practice at the Cardinals spring training complex in Jupiter, Fla. on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023. WebDid You Know? He grew up in New Orleans where he introduced to jazz and he went on to spread jazz throughout different cities such as Chicago and New York. He spread jazz throughout the world. In July, Armstrong sailed to England for a tour. Louis continued to spread his style by touring other countries. Louis Armstrong is one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. While performing with Tate in 1926, Armstrong finally switched from the cornet to the trumpet. The tune did, however, become a No. Because of his long improvised solos, he inspired jazz so that long solos became an important part of jazz pieces and performances. Copy. This newfound popularity introduced Armstrong to a new, younger audience, and he continued making both successful records and concert appearances for the rest of the decade, even cracking the "Iron Curtain" with a tour of Communist countries such as East Berlin and Czechoslovakia in 1965. WebBy the '50s, Armstrong was an established international celebrity--an icon to musicians and lovers of jazz--and a genial, infectiously optimistic presence wherever he appeared. That's the secret. Armstrong was the primary ever "Genius" of jazz music. He would attend parades, funerals, churches and go to cheap cabarets to be able to hear some of the greats play, Little Louis sung in a vocal quartet in his early teens. Pops had a special place in his heart for both Chinese and Italian food. Death Year: 1971, Death date: July 6, 1971, Death State: New York, Death City: Corona, Queens, Death Country: United States, Article Title: Louis Armstrong Biography, Author: Biography.com Editors, Website Name: The Biography.com website, Url: https://www.biography.com/musicians/louis-armstrong, Publisher: A&E; Television Networks, Last Updated: January 29, 2021, Original Published Date: April 3, 2014. Louis Armstrong, also known as Ambassador Satch, was unofficially adopted by a family of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania who had a junk hauling business in Louisiana. This gift, coupled with Louis Armstrongs already present affinity for the musical sounds of the local New Orleans street bands and brass players that lingered around, helped to brew the perfect storm that would create one of the most prolific players of the 20th century. Why is Louis Armstrong important to blacks? Here are 10 facts about the life of one of the 20th century's most important jazz musicians. If Armstrong never bought the cornet he would have never become famous. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! He dropped out of school at 11 to join an informal group, but on December 31, 1912, he fired a gun during a New Year's Eve celebration, and was sent to reform school. He moved to the Fate Marable band in the spring of 1919, staying with Marable until the fall of 1921. But Armstrong also became an enduring figure in popular music due to his distinctively phrased baritone singing and engaging personality, which were on display in a series of vocal recordings and film roles. Similarly, many of his most influential recordings, like 1928's "West End Blues" and 1955's "Mack the Knife," have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. He also took a series of small parts in motion pictures, beginning with Pennies from Heaven in December 1936, and he continued to record for Decca, resulting in the Top Ten hits "Public Melody Number One" (August 1937), "When the Saints Go Marching In" (April 1939), and "You Won't Be Satisfied (Until You Break My Heart)" (April 1946), the last a duet with Ella Fitzgerald. Midway through the recording session, he accidentally dropped them and scatted to fill the ensuing silence. For live dates, he appeared with the orchestras led by Erskine Tate and Carroll Dickerson. Given his popularity, his long career, and the extensive label-jumping he did in his later years, as well as the differing jazz and pop sides of his work, his recordings are extensive and diverse, with parts of his catalog owned by numerous companies. Evidently, the show went well. His mother, Mayann, was 15 years old when he was born and his father, Willie, abandoned them soon after. he put his soul and dedicated his life to his music. He played dramatic works of simple structure in Orleans jazz style and with the accompaniment of Dick jazz music. In 1964, he scored a surprise hit with his recording of the title song from the Broadway musical Hello, Dolly!, which reached number one in May, followed by a gold-selling album of the same name. Why Is Louis Armstrong Important. Armstrong had gained sufficient individual notice to make his recording debut as a leader on November 12, 1925. However, controversy regarding Armstrong's fatherhood struck in 1954, when a girlfriend that the musician had dated on the side, Lucille "Sweets" Preston, claimed she was pregnant with his child. We contributed Louis Armstrong. Armstrong defined what it was to play Jazz. Shortly thereafter, Armstrong bragged about the child to his manager, Joe Glaser, in a letter that would later be published in the book Louis Armstrong In His Own Words (1999). Beginning in 1919, Armstrong spent his summers playing on riverboats with a band led by Fate Marable. When Wilson tired of living out of a suitcase during endless strings of one-nighters, she convinced Armstrong to purchase a house at 34-56 107th Street in Corona, Queens, New York. He is a husky singer, often with a trumpet in his hand. WebLouis Armstrong remains an icon of American history and 20 th century popular culture. 149 Copy quote. 1. He performed in Europe for the first time in 1932 and returned in 1933, staying for over a year because of a damaged lip. In 1936, Louis Armstrong became the first African American jazz musician to write an autobiography, Swing That Music. Louis Armstrong is arguably the most important musician that the United States has ever produced (Shipton 160). His music was a happiness to individuals and they said he was a gift sent from heaven.