One of the first many New Orleans style jazz artists is Jelly Roll Morton. Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus sent in the National Guard to prevent the Little Rock Nine nine African American students from entering the public school. Louis began playing at a young age when he was growing up in New Orleans. When Armstrong was eleven years old, he got in trouble for shooting a gun on New Years Eve to ring in the new year, 1912. Jelly Roll Morton was a great pianist and arranger from New Orleans., He not only produce one impressive improvised solo after another, but he also raised the bar for jazz vocals. WebLouis Armstrongas a musician, as a man, as an icon. He was then sent to the Colored Waif's Home for Boys. He was an all-star virtuoso, and came to prominence in the 1920s playing cornet and trumpet with an excitingly new and improvisational style. Eldridge is the obvious link between Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie. His lips were still sore, and there were still remnants of his mob troubles and with Lil, who, following the couple's split, was suing Armstrong. Sure enough, he explained, they [published] Heebie Jeebies the same way it was mistakenly recorded. However, most biographers believe that Armstrong made up this anecdote and had planned on scatting all along. Armstrongs unique singing and masterful improvisation transitioned jazz from the traditional style to a newer, more rhythmic style. By the end of the decade, the popularity of the Hot Fives and Sevens was enough to send Armstrong back to New York, where he appeared in the popular Broadway revue, Hot Chocolates. He soon began touring and never really stopped until his death in 1971. However, conditions changed when he was requested to record the title number of a broadway show that went on to become a hit. Related. Why is Louis Armstrong important to blacks? He also began appearing in the orchestra of Hot Chocolates, a Broadway revue, and was given a featured spot singing "Ain't Misbehavin'." The boy's mother, Armstrong's cousin, had died in childbirth. 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. Study now. Armstrong was arrested at eleven years old for disturbing the peace. Louis continued to spread his style by touring other countries. With his infectious smile and raspy voice, Louis Armstrong (who actually pronounced his own name "Lewis") won over fans worldwide. Pillars of Life 3 y Related Why was jazz so important? 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. However, a heart attack two days after the Waldorf gig sidelined him for two months. (Armstrong did not function as a bandleader in the usual sense, but instead typically lent his name to established groups.) Armstrong and Oliver became the talk of the town with their intricate two-cornet breaks and started making records together in 1923. Louis Daniel (Louie) Armstrong is perhaps the most important and influential person in the history of jazz music, swing music, and jazz vocal styling. .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}DOWNLOAD BIOGRAPHY'S LOUIS ARMSTRONG FACT CARD. 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. 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. Armstrong sang his heart out on the number, thinking of his home in Queens as he did so, but "What a Wonderful World" received little promotion in the United States. In 1918, he married Daisy Parker, a prostitute, commencing a stormy union marked by many arguments and acts of violence. In 1993, it gained renewed popularity when it was used in the film Sleepless in Seattle. Armstrong had gained sufficient individual notice to make his recording debut as a leader on November 12, 1925. In the 1980s and '90s, younger African American jazz musicians like Wynton Marsalis, Jon Faddis and Nicholas Payton began speaking about Armstrong's importance, both as a musician and a human being. Although he is often thought of by the general public as a lovable, clowning personality, a gravel-voiced singer who played simple but dramatic trumpet in a New Orleans-styled Dixieland setting, Armstrong himself was so much more. Armstrong completed his contract with Decca in 1954, after which his manager made the unusual decision not to sign him to another exclusive contract but instead have him freelance for different labels. Louis gave jazz music a purpose. Armstrong's charismatic stage presence impressed not only the jazz world but all of popular music. He made his first recordings with Oliver on April 5, 1923; that day, he earned his first recorded solo on "Chimes Blues.". While in New York, Armstrong cut dozens of records as a sideman, creating inspirational jazz with other greats such as Sidney Bechet, and backing numerous blues singers including Bessie Smith. 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. In 1988, music historian Thaddeus Tad Jones located a baptismal record at New Orleanss Sacred Heart of Jesus Church. But, as a Bayou State native, Armstrongs favorite dish was always rice and beans. He was one of the most influential figures in jazz music. Famous for his innovative methods of playing the trumpet and cornet, he was also a highly talented singer, blessed with a powerful gravelly voice. Known for his improvisation, Armstrong could induce dramatic effects with his music. Louis Armstrong was a jazz trumpeter, bandleader and singer known for songs like "What a Wonderful World, Hello, Dolly, Star Dust and "La Vie En Rose.. ", Armstrong signed with Columbia Records in the mid-'50s, and soon cut some of the finest albums of his career for producer George Avakian, including Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. Louis did his first performance on stage in 1930 to spread his Jazz style. WebThe point is that Armstrong created and codified an entire vocabulary of jazz, setting the standard for vocalists and instrumentalists. A series of new biographies on Armstrong made his role as a civil rights pioneer abundantly clear and, subsequently, argued for an embrace of his entire career's output, not just the revolutionary recordings from the 1920s. Back in America in 1935, Armstrong hired Joe Glaser as his manager and began fronting a big band, recording pop songs for Decca, and appearing regularly in movies. Eldridge is the obvious link between Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie. He was a master of the trumpet and a skilled improviser, and his style of playing influenced many other jazz musicians. By the start of 1932, he had switched from the "race"-oriented OKeh label to its pop-oriented big sister Columbia, for which he recorded two Top Five hits, "Chinatown, My Chinatown" and "You Can Depend on Me" before scoring a number one hit with "All of Me" in March 1932; another Top Five hit, "Love, You Funny Thing," hit the charts the same month. Love, baby - love. The record was released in 1964 and quickly climbed to the top of the pop music charts, hitting the No. During this time, Armstrong adopted a three-year-old boy named Clarence. Blessed with, Armstrong was born in New Orleans on August 4, 1901. An early job working for the Jewish Karnofsky family allowed Armstrong to make enough money to purchase his first cornet. 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. Throughout the years, jazz musicians have created many new styles, new arrangements, and put this genre of music on the map., He affected the heading of jazz music and spontaneous creation. The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky are also on the faces of people going by. In a strange turn of events, it was during this tour that Armstrong's career fell apart: Years of blowing high notes had taken a toll on Armstrong's lips, and, following a fight with his manager Johnny Collins who already managed to get Armstrong into trouble with the Mafia he was left stranded overseas by Collins. Armstrong was arrested at eleven years old for disturbing the peace. 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. His amazing technical abilities, the joy and spontaneity, and amazingly quick, inventive musical mind still dominate Jazz to this day. (She was the second of his four wives.) His mother, Mayann, was 15 years old when he was born and his father, Willie, abandoned them soon after. His rise to the top, though not overnight, occurred quickly, he played with mostly all the major bands in New Orleans over the next few years (Friedwald 350). Additionally, he became the first African American entertainer to host a nationally sponsored radio show in 1937, when he took over Rudy Vallee's Fleischmann's Yeast Show for 12 weeks. By the summer of 1970, Armstrong was allowed to perform publicly again and play the trumpet. Dancers loved Hendersons music making Louis Armstrong a celebrity so when he left his old band, this would be a step up. His rise to fame peaked in the 1920s, where he stunned the world with his bold trumpet style and idiosyncratic vocals. Some even theorize that it was Armstrongs difficult upbringing that made his music so wise, so unique, and so revolutionary. 149 Copy quote. He was known for both his joyous ways with the trumpet and his peculiarly touching and funny vocal style. Released from the Waifs Home in 1914, Armstrong set his sights on becoming a professional musician. Louis was arrested by Police When he was eleven. It did not gain as much notice in the U.S. until 1987, when it was used in the film Good Morning, Vietnam, after which it became a Top 40 hit. The lights dim, and the velvet curtains slide open. Here are 10 facts about the life of one of the 20th century's most important jazz musicians. A local Jewish family, the Karnofskys, gave young Armstrong a job collecting junk and delivering coal. Armstrong's home in Corona, Queens was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977; today, the house is home to the Louis Armstrong House Museum, which annually receives thousands of visitors from all over the world. At the mention jazz music, that person will first think of is likely to be a great figure with a clown image, nicknamed Satchmo. He started as a soloist for Henderson after marrying Lil Hardin. Millions of people, starting in the 1930s until today, have agreed with Louis Armstrongs famous words and have been huge fans of the famous musician. He began following him and eventually Oliver became Armstrongs mentor. Changing jazz into what was once known as a ensemble music to soloist art. He showed an early interest in music, and a junk dealer for whom he worked as a grade-school student helped him buy a cornet, which he taught himself to play. A few weeks later after his birth his father leaves his mother alone with a family. Between 1952 and 1955, Armstrong shed 100 pounds. Louis Armstrong is one of the most important jazz figures. His mother, who often turned to prostitution, frequently left him with his maternal grandmother. You might be able to buy a little better booze than the wino on the corner. Louis Armstrong was the first black man in the U.S. to host a radio show. He returned to Chicago in the spring of 1932 to front a band led by Zilner Randolph; the group toured around the country. That same year, Armstrong married for the fourth and final time; he wed Lucille Wilson, a Cotton Club dancer. Mob bosses from New York City and Chicago threatened Louis Armstrong in attempts to control his management contract. The man was Louis Armstrong. Louis Armstrong is famous for his stunning jazz performance, unique vocals, and amazing styles with the trumpet/cornet. In 1924, Armstrong married Hardin, who urged Armstrong to leave Oliver and try to make it on his own. Armstrong's four marriages never produced any children, and because he and wife Lucille Wilson had actively tried for years to no avail, many believed him to be sterile, incapable of having children. Henderson also forbade Armstrong from singing, fearing that his rough way of vocalizing would be too coarse for the sophisticated audiences at the Roseland Ballroom. The musician didn't let the incident stop him, however, and after taking a few weeks off to recover, he was back on the road, performing 300 nights a year into the 1960s. The way they are treating my people in the South, declared Armstrong, the government can go to hell.. Armstrong spent his youth singing on the street for spare change, but he didnt receive any formal musical training until age 11. Even the scepter of Uncle Tom that shadowed the outsized Satchmo during his career, and that Ellington essentially concurred with in an interview with Carter Harman in 1964, has faded. (Biography.com), Many people knew Louis Armstrong as the first real genius of jazz(Shipton 26). A year in New York with Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra proved unsatisfying so Armstrong returned to Chicago in 1925 and began making records under his own name for the first time. He recorded several songs throughout his career, including he is known for songs like "Star Dust," "La Vie En Rose" and "What a Wonderful World. Louis Armstrong was to jazz music what Bach is to classical music, Presley is to rock music (Berrett 230). In 1937, Louis Armstrong became the first African American entertainer to host a nationally sponsored radio show. It is said that during a session, Armstrong dropped his sheet music and started mimicking the sounds of the horn with his voice. He faced tremendous adversity, ignorance and hatred in his life, and fought back without sinking to the level of those who opposed him. In 1947, the waning popularity of the big bands forced Armstrong to begin fronting a small group, Louis Armstrong and His All Stars. Making money ain't nothing exciting to me. His influence, both as an artist and cultural icon, is universal and is still relevant today. It won him a Grammy for best vocal performance. 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. There were many jazz musicians. Handy and Satch Plays Fats. The joyous tune perfectly and ironically clashed with the wartime horrors depicted in one montage, so director Barry Levinson added it to his films soundtrack. Within a span of three years, Armstrong recorded over sixty records. Mozart, in his own traditional ways, the right away he did the first three of his 22 performances at that opera. 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. Armstrong joined Henderson in the fall of 1924 and immediately made his presence felt with a series of solos that introduced the concept of swing music to the band. This led some to alter his long-time nickname, Satchmo, to "Ambassador Satch.". Copy. He was a master of the trumpet and a pioneer of jazz. The letters, dated as far back as 1968, prove that Armstrong had indeed always believed Sharon to be his daughter, and that he even paid for her education and home, among several other things, throughout his life. Members of the group, at one time or another, included Jack Teagarden, Earl Hines, Sid Catlett, Barney Bigard, Trummy Young, Edmond Hall, Billy Kyle and Tyree Glenn, among other jazz legends. This is where Armstrong first fell in love with music; he would listen to people playing any chance that he would get(Tirro). His amazing technical abilities, the joy and spontaneity, and amazingly quick, inventive musical mind still dominate Jazz to this day. There, under the tutelage of Peter Davis, he learned how to properly play the cornet, eventually becoming the leader of the Waifs Home Brass Band. He began to grow artistically and perfected his improvisational method (Jazz Stars 2). Then along came a bare-knuckled comedy called Good Morning, Vietnam (1987). Armstrong made his first trip abroad, to Europe, and received the nickname Satchmo from his original nickname Satchelmouth, because of his big lips. Without the jazz musicians, jazz music would not have been possible. He was taken under the wing of cornetist Joe "King" Oliver, and when Oliver moved to Chicago in June 1918, Armstrong replaced him in the Kid Ory Band. For this, he is revered by jazz fans. That didnt stop him from living his life like a regular boy. Today, these are generally regarded as the most important and influential recordings in jazz history; on these records, Armstrong's virtuoso brilliance helped transform jazz from an ensemble music to a soloist's art. 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. Though he was the product's biggest cheerleader, Armstrong neither requested nor received any payment from its manufacturers. Rock Icon KISS Is Saying Goodbye (For Real), DOWNLOAD BIOGRAPHY'S LOUIS ARMSTRONG FACT CARD, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Louis Armstrong, Birth Year: 1901, Birth date: August 4, 1901, Birth State: Louisiana, Birth City: New Orleans, Birth Country: United States, Best Known For: Louis Armstrong was a jazz trumpeter, bandleader and singer known for songs like "What a Wonderful World, Hello, Dolly, Star Dust and "La Vie En Rose., Astrological Sign: Leo. But you get sick just like the next cat and when you die you're just as graveyard dead as he is. According to this document, the performers actual birth date was August 4, 1901. Louis Armstrong used to give away laxatives as gifts. Show More. Fletcher Henderson also influenced jazz music. WebLouis Armstrong is arguably the most important musician that the United States has ever produced (Shipton 160). "Hotter Than That" was in the Top Ten in May 1928, followed in September by "West End Blues," which later became one of the first recordings named to the Grammy Hall of Fame. For live dates, he appeared with the orchestras led by Erskine Tate and Carroll Dickerson. One day, they even advanced him the $5 he used to buy his very first horn. Each of the books on jazz music will mention his name. On New Year's Eve in 1912, Armstrong fired his stepfather's gun in the air during a New Year's Eve celebration and was arrested on the spot. WebAnswer (1 of 2): Armstrongs first brass instrument and initial training was on the cornet, which is generally easier for younger or beginning players to learn and slightly smaller in size. An all-star virtuoso, he came to prominence in the 1920s, influencing countless musicians with both his daring trumpet style and unique vocals. Eventually tour ended and Louis went back home to continue his. These records later went on to become the most influential in jazz history, as it was the first time Armstrong facilitated the evolution of jazz as a ensemble to a soloist art. Louis Armstrong was the most important and influential musician in jazz history. What are some facts about Louis Armstrong?A Jewish immigrant family helped him buy his first horn. Armstrong first received musical training during a stint in juvenile detention. His wife helped jumpstart his solo career. Armstrong was one of the first celebrities to be arrested for drug possession. Nobody did what Louis could do. Louis Armstrong (Aug 4th, 1901 - Jul 6th, 1971) was an American trumpeter, composer, singer and occasional actor who became one of the most influential figures in jazz. By the end of his teens, Armstrong had grown up fast. Armstrong began to sing on the records, creating a new form of singing, scat singing. Heebie Jeebies and Hotter Than That, was some of the earliest recordings of Armstrongs scat singing., He was a major piece in the history of jazz music and his career lasted for more than 50 years. The latter performance is one of Armstrong's best known works, opening with a stunning cadenza that features equal helpings of opera and the blues; with its release, "West End Blues" proved to the world that the genre of fun, danceable jazz music was also capable of producing high art. Armstrong spent the last decade of his life similarly that he had spent the four past enthralling groups of onlookers all through the world., Louis Blues, Overall Armstrong wrote and performed some of the most popular and well known jazz songs of all time. But many of his recorded performances are masterpieces, and none are less than entertaining. In the 1950s, he was sometimes criticized for his onstage persona and called an Uncle Tom but he silenced critics by speaking out against the governments handling of the Little Rock Nine high school integration crisis in 1957. He influenced other jazz musicians by his fearless trumpet styles and distinctive vocals. Armstrong could make an audience cheer, but Roy Eldridge, made those top and bottom notes feel like a natural part of what the horn should do (Friedwald 21). Given that Armstrong was only 11, it was (one of) his stepfathers who was responsible for the whole series of events. In April, he reached the charts with his first vocal recording, "Big Butter and Egg Man," a duet with May Alix. 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). He weathered the bebop period of the '40s, growing ever more beloved worldwide. he put his soul and dedicated his life to his music. It was on the riverboat that Armstrong honed his music reading skills and eventually had his first encounters with other jazz legends, including Bix Beiderbecke and Jack Teagarden. He is also the first African American celebrity to appear in a major Hollywood movie. He had a string of pop hits beginning in 1949 and started making regular overseas tours, where his popularity was so great, he was dubbed Ambassador Satch.. The jazz magazine Down Beat agreed. The bottom line of any country in the world is what did we contribute to the world? 232) Armstrong unlike other black jazz men and women, was one of the first to be welcomed in the upper echelons of white society. He was arrested for firing a pistol in He attended Colored Waifs Home in 1913 for eighteen months. What was Louis Armstrongs childhood like? Louis Armstrong is one of the first great soloists in the 1920s musicians. Armstrong returned to New York with his band for an engagement at Connie's Inn in Harlem in May 1929.