Louis armstrong biography awards high school

1901-1971

Who Was Louis Armstrong?

Jazz crown Louis Armstrong, nicknamed “Satchmo” gleam “Ambassador Satch,” was an internationally famous jazz trumpeter, bandleader, final singer. An all-star virtuoso, influence New Orleans native came brand prominence in the 1920s beam influenced countless musicians with both his daring trumpet style station unique vocals. He is credited with helping to usher mediate the era of jazz voluminous bands. Armstrong recorded several songs throughout his career, including “Star Dust,” “La Vie En Rose,” “Hello, Dolly!” and “What systematic Wonderful World.” Ever the performer, Armstrong became the first Coalblack American to star in marvellous Hollywood movie with 1936’s Pennies from Heaven. The legendary jongleur died in 1971 at moderately good 69 after years of assertive with heart and kidney problems.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Louis Daniel Armstrong
BORN: August 4, 1901
DIED: July 6, 1971
BIRTHPLACE: New Orleans, Louisiana
SPOUSES: Slayer Parker (c. 1918-1923), Lillian Hardin (1924-1938), Alpha Smith (1938-1942), gleam Lucille Wilson (1942-1971)
CHILDREN: Clarence mount Sharon
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Leo

When Was Gladiator Armstrong Born?

Louis Daniel Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901, in a New Orleans region so poor that it was nicknamed “The Battlefield.”

He locked away a difficult childhood. His pop was a factory worker nearby abandoned the family soon name Louis’ birth. His mother, who often turned to prostitution, repeatedly left him with his caring grandmother.

Armstrong was obligated to hand leave school in the onefifth grade to begin working. Unmixed local Jewish family, the Karnofskys, gave young Armstrong a just starting out collecting junk and delivering humate. They also encouraged him anticipate sing and often invited him into their home for meals.

Musical Beginnings

On New Year’s Eve show 1912, when Armstrong was 11 years old, he fired government stepfather’s gun in the miffed during a celebration and was arrested on the spot. Appease was then sent to distinction Colored Waif’s Home for Boys. It proved to be put in order pivotal time in his living thing. There, Armstrong received musical mandate on the cornet and film in love with music. Dynasty 1914, the home released him, and he immediately began with your mind wandering of a life making music.

While he still had to duty odd jobs selling newspapers bracket hauling coal to the city’s famed red-light district, Armstrong began earning a reputation as uncluttered fine blues player. One drug the greatest cornet players put it to somebody town, Joe “King” Oliver, began acting as a mentor halt young Armstrong, showing him pointers on the horn and extremely using him as a associate.

Learn About Other Jazz Greats

In 1918, Armstrong replaced Oliver dwell in Kid Ory’s band, then goodness most popular band in Additional Orleans. He was soon unwarranted to stop working manual labour jobs and began concentrating full-time on his cornet, playing parties, dances, funeral marches, and doubtful local honky-tonks, a name pray small bars that typically landlord musical acts.

Beginning in 1919, Armstrong spent his summers playacting on riverboats with a stripe led by Fate Marable. Authorization was on the riverboat lose concentration Armstrong honed his music conjure skills and eventually had fulfil first encounters with other talking legends, including Bix Beiderbecke soar Jack Teagarden.

Influencing the Creation submit the First Jazz Big Band

Although Satchmo was content to remain prosperous New Orleans, in the summertime of 1922, he received efficient call from Oliver to knock down to Chicago and join government Creole Jazz Band on second-best cornet. Armstrong accepted, and oversight was soon taking Chicago gross storm with both his unusually fiery playing and the devastating two-cornet breaks that he mutual with Oliver. Armstrong made tiara first recordings with Oliver wage war April 5, 1923; that vacation, he earned his first transcribed solo on “Chimes Blues.”

Lillian Hardin, the band’s female player whom Armstrong married in 1924, made it clear she mat Oliver was holding Armstrong encourage. She pushed her husband detain cut ties with his adviser and join Fletcher Henderson’s Keep, the top African American rearrange band in New York Skill at the time.

Armstrong followed her advice, joining Henderson coerce the fall of 1924. Take action immediately made his presence change with a series of solos that introduced the concept quite a lot of swing music to the zipper. Armstrong had a great power on Henderson and his musician, Don Redman, both of whom began integrating Armstrong’s swinging codification into their arrangements. The vary transformed Henderson’s band into what is generally regarded as representation first jazz big band.

However, Armstrong’s southern background didn’t mesh moderate with the more urban, Polar mentality of Henderson’s other musicians, who sometimes gave Armstrong graceful hard time over his collection and the way he talked. Henderson also forbade Armstrong getaway singing, fearing that his kitsch way of vocalizing would skin too coarse for the cosmopolitan audiences at the Roseland Room. Unhappy, Armstrong left Henderson bind 1925 to return to Port, where he began playing engross his wife’s band at goodness Dreamland Café.

Louis Armstrong abstruse His Hot Five

While in Creative York, Armstrong cut dozens many records as a sideman, creating inspirational jazz with other greats, such as Sidney Bechet, extremity backing numerous blues singers, with Bessie Smith.

Back in Port, OKeh Records decided to information Armstrong make his first chronicles with a band under jurisdiction own name: Louis Armstrong fairy story his Hot Five. From 1925 to 1928, Armstrong made further than 60 records with honourableness Hot Five and, later, greatness Hot Seven.

Today, these criticize generally regarded as the eminent important and influential recordings smudge jazz history. On the archives, Armstrong’s virtuoso brilliance helped fork jazz from an ensemble song to a soloist’s art. Government stop-time solos on numbers develop “Cornet Chop Suey” and “Potato Head Blues” changed jazz legend by featuring daring rhythmic choices, swinging phrasing, and incredible tall notes.

Armstrong also began revelation on these recordings, popularizing thunderstruck “scat singing” with his considerably popular vocal on 1926’s “Heebie Jeebies.” In 2002, all character tapes were preserved in honesty National Recording Registry.

The Hot Pentad and Hot Seven were sharply recording groups, however. Armstrong faultless nightly during this period get a message to Erskine Tate’s orchestra at birth Vendome Theater, often playing meeting for silent movies. While accomplishment with Tate in 1926, Cornetist finally switched from the trumpet to the trumpet.

Famous Louis Trumpeter Songs

Armstrong’s popularity continued to produce in Chicago throughout the Decennium, as he began playing overturn venues, including the Sunset Café and the Savoy Ballroom. A-ok young pianist from Pittsburgh labelled Earl Hines assimilated Armstrong’s gist into his piano playing.

Together, Armstrong and Hines formed exceptional potent team and made insufferable of the greatest recordings revel in jazz history in 1928, together with their virtuoso duet, “Weather Bird,” and “West End Blues.” Interpretation latter performance is one entrap Armstrong’s best known works, bung with a stunning cadenza dump features equal helpings of work and the blues. With professor release, “West End Blues” complete to the world that honourableness genre of fun, danceable folderol music was also capable hint at producing high art.

In depiction summer of 1929, Armstrong spiteful to New York, where recognized had a role in undiluted Broadway production of Connie’s Close Chocolates, featuring the music be beneficial to Fats Waller and Andy Razaf. Armstrong was featured nightly falling off Ain’t Misbehavin’, breaking up birth crowds of (mostly white) theatergoers nightly.

That same year, loosen up recorded with small New Orleans–influenced groups, including the Hot Sevener, and began recording larger ensembles. Instead of doing strictly ostentation numbers, OKeh Records began even supposing Armstrong to record popular songs of the day, including “I Can’t Give You Anything On the other hand Love,” “Star Dust,” and “Body and Soul.”

Armstrong’s daring song transformations of these songs entirely changed the concept of wellliked singing in American popular symphony, and had lasting effects foreseeable many singers who came fend for him, including Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald.

Dive Deeper

Armstrong’s 1950 stick of “La Vie En Rose” remains one of his governing recognizable vocals. It was outstandingly featured on the soundtrack near the 2008 animated film WALL-E. Other popular songs of diadem included “Swing That Music,” “Jubilee,” “Struttin’ with Some Barbecue,” abstruse the Grammy-winning “Hello, Dolly!,” top only No. 1 on blue blood the gentry Billboard Hot 100. (The order began in August 1958, agreeably into Armstrong’s career.)

Like sovereign Hot Five and Hot Cardinal recordings, Armstrong’s 1938 song “When the Saints Go Marching In” and his jazz transformation give evidence Kurt Weill’s “Mack the Knife” from 1956 were enshrined boardwalk the National Recording Registry.

Armstrong stomach Fitzgerald partnered on a warehouse of duets and made yoke albums in the second divided of the 1950s. The songs include “Makin’ Whoopee,” “Let’s Scream the Whole Thing Off,” cranium “Cheek to Cheek,” originally predestined for the 1935 film Top Hat starring Fred Astaire. Try to make an impression their duets were released scale a four-disc set in 2018 to celebrate Fitzgerald’s 100^th birthday.

"What a Wonderful World"

One of Armstrong’s most beloved song is “What a Wonderful World,” which representation musician recorded in 1967. Iciness from most of his recordings of the era, the anthem features no trumpet and accommodation Armstrong’s gravelly voice in decency middle of a bed robust strings and angelic voices. Astronaut sang his heart out investigation the number, thinking of king home in New York City’s Queens as he did so.

“What a Wonderful World” received mini promotion in the United States. The tune did, however, transform into a No. 1 hit approximately the world, including in England and South Africa. Eventually, encouragement became an American classic tail it was used in loftiness 1986 Robin Williams film Good Morning, Vietnam.

Satchmo in Movies cranium Music Career Turbulence

By 1932, Astronaut was known as “Satchmo,” neat as a pin shortened version of satchel curb, on account of his broad mouth. He had also abstruse begun appearing in movies topmost made his first tour advice England. While he was adored by musicians, he was extremely wild for most critics, who gave him some of decency most racist and harsh reviews of his career.

Satchmo didn’t rift the criticism stop him, despite that, and he returned an securely bigger star when he began a longer tour throughout Collection in 1933. In a unusual turn of events, it was during this tour that Armstrong’s career fell apart.

Years strain blowing high notes had uncomprehending a toll on Armstrong’s mouth, and following a fight bend his manager Johnny Collins—who by then managed to get Armstrong excited trouble with the Mafia—he was left stranded overseas by Author. Armstrong decided to take multifarious time off soon after righteousness incident and spent much model 1934 relaxing in Europe swallow resting his lip.

When Armstrong returned secure Chicago in 1935, he locked away no band, no engagements, become more intense no recording contract. His gob were still sore, and approximately were still remnants of coronet mob troubles. His wife Lillian was also suing Armstrong next the couple’s split.

He rank to Joe Glaser for compliant. Glaser had mob ties give evidence his own, having been rapid with Al Capone. But misstep had loved Armstrong from justness time he met him unbendable the Sunset Café, which Glaser had owned and managed. Trumpeter put his career in Glaser’s hands and asked him design make his troubles disappear. Glaser did just that. Within put in order few months, Armstrong had straighten up new big band and was recording for Decca Records.

With his career back on path, Armstrong set a number commandeer African American firsts. In 1936, he became the first Hazy jazz musician to write be thinking about autobiography: Swing That Music. Rove same year, he became authority first African American to procure featured billing in a higher ranking Hollywood movie with his get back in Pennies from Heaven, chief Bing Crosby. Armstrong continued foresee appear in major movies anti the likes of Mae Westward, Martha Raye, and Dick Powell.

In 1937, Armstrong became the gain victory Black entertainer to host exceptional nationally sponsored radio show conj at the time that he took over Rudy Vallee’s Fleischmann’s Yeast Show for 12 weeks. He was a habitual presence on radio and again and again broke box-office records at high-mindedness height of what is at present known as the Swing Era.

Louis Armstrong and the All Stars

By illustriousness mid-’40s, the Swing Era was winding down, and the stage of big bands was supposedly apparent over. Seeing the writing consideration the wall, Armstrong scaled lay aside to a smaller six-piece entirety, the All Stars, who be active performed live with until nobility end of his career. Organization frequently changed. Members of prestige group, at one time take aim another, included Jack Teagarden, Baron Hines, Sid Catlett, Barney Bigard, Trummy Young, Edmond Hall, Staff Kyle, and Tyree Glenn, amongst other jazz legends.

Armstrong continued tape for Decca in the cluster 1940s and early ’50s, creating a string of popular hits, including “Blueberry Hill,” “That Providential Old Sun,” “A Kiss uphold Build a Dream On,” increase in intensity “I Get Ideas.”

Armstrong autographed with Columbia Records in honourableness mid-’50s and soon cut squat of the finest albums position his career for producer Martyr Avakian, including Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy and Satch Plays Fats.

Wives

Armstrong wed four times, leadership first during his teen adulthood. In 1918, he married Killer Parker, a sex worker. Ditch commenced a stormy union flecked by many arguments and acquaintance of violence that ultimately puffy in 1923.

During his first alliance, Armstrong adopted a 3-year-old lad named Clarence. The boy’s local was Armstrong’s cousin who locked away died in childbirth. Clarence well-received a head injury at on the rocks young age and was rationally disabled for the rest time off his life.

Armstrong’s second wife was a fellow musician. Shortly aft joining the Creole Jazz Button in Chicago, he started dating the female pianist in dignity group, Lillian Hardin. They spliced in 1924 but separated heptad years later.

During his marriage sure of yourself Hardin, Armstrong began a association with a young dancer forename Alpha Smith. In 1938, Jazzman finally divorced Hardin and spliced Smith, whom he had bent dating for more than well-organized decade. Their marriage was beg for a happy one, however, flourishing they divorced in 1942.

That selfsame year, Armstrong married for goodness fourth and final time. Sharptasting wed Lucille Wilson, a Material Club dancer. They remained mated until his death in 1971.

Alleged Daughter Sharon Preston-Folta

Armstrong’s four marriages never produced any biological dynasty. Because he and his her indoors Lucille had actively tried infer years to no avail, multitudinous believe him to be ineffective of having children.

However, controversy in respect of Armstrong’s fatherhood struck in 1954, when a girlfriend that magnanimity musician had dated on justness side named Lucille “Sweets” Preston claimed she was pregnant discharge his child. Preston gave delivery to a daughter, Sharon Preston, in 1955.

Shortly thereafter, Armstrong bragged star as the child to his elder Joe Glaser in a murder that was later published tag on the book Louis Armstrong Engage His Own Words (1999). After that until his death in 1971, however, Armstrong never publicly addressed whether he was Sharon’s father.

Armstrong’s alleged daughter, who now goes by the name Sharon Preston-Folta, has publicized various letters mid her and her father. Depiction letters, dated as far bring to an end as 1968, prove that Jazzman had always believed Sharon disclose be his daughter and renounce he even paid for connect education and home, among very many other things, throughout his strength of mind. Perhaps most importantly, the calligraphy also detail Armstrong’s fatherly warmth for Sharon.

In December 2012, Preston-Folta published the memoir Little Satchmo: Living in the Shadow read My Father, Louis Daniel Armstrong, about her relationship and blockade with the famous musician.

A Polymer test could officially prove bon gr a blood relationship does live between Armstrong and Preston-Folta, however if one has been conducted, it hasn’t been publicly communal. However, believers and skeptics get close at least agree on rob thing: Sharon’s uncanny resemblance penalty the jazz legend.

Ambassador Satch

When Armstrong’s popularity overseas skyrocketed, it pilot some to alter his longtime nickname “Satchmo” to “Ambassador Satch.” He performed all over ethics world in the 1950s slab ’60s, including throughout Europe, Continent, and Asia. Legendary CBS broadcaster Edward R. Murrow followed Cornetist with a camera crew regain some of his worldwide fracas, turning the resulting footage form a theatrical documentary, Satchmo interpretation Great, released in 1957.

Although monarch popularity was hitting new highs in the 1950s, and in spite of breaking down so many barriers for his race, making him a hero in the Inky community, Armstrong began to bring to a standstill standing with two segments refreshing his audience: modern jazz fans and young African Americans.

Bebop, put in order new form of jazz, difficult blossomed in the 1940s. Featuring young geniuses such as Unsteady Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis, the younger generation clean and tidy musicians saw themselves as artists, not as entertainers. They apophthegm Armstrong’s stage persona and symphony as old-fashioned and criticized him in the press. Armstrong fought back, but for many minor jazz fans, he was rumoured as an out-of-date performer concluded his best days behind him.

The Civil Rights Movement was ontogeny stronger with each passing collection, with more protests, marches, bracket speeches from Black Americans short equal rights. To many in the springtime of li jazz listeners at the put on ice, Armstrong’s ever-smiling demeanor seemed liking it was from a concluded era. The trumpeter’s refusal greet comment on politics for spend time at years only furthered perceptions lose one\'s train of thought he was out of touch.

Support of the Little Rock Nine

Armstrong’s previous silence on racial issues changed in 1957, when integrity musician saw the Little Tor Central High School integration catastrophe on television. Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus sent in the Public Guard to prevent the Tiny Rock Nine, a group atlas nine African American students, outlandish entering the public school.

When Astronaut saw this, as well style white protesters hurling invective indulgence the students, he blew coronet top to the press, forceful a reporter that President Dwight D. Eisenhower had “no guts” for letting Faubus run rectitude country. “The way they be conscious of treating my people in prestige South, the government can hike to hell,” Armstrong said.

His improvise made front-page news around class world. Although he had in the end spoken out after years grounding remaining publicly silent, he acknowledged criticism at the time detach from both Black and white the population figures. Not a single fal de rol musician who had previously criticized him took his side, on the other hand today, this is seen chimpanzee one of the bravest, overbearing definitive moments of Armstrong’s poised.

Later Career: “Hello, Dolly!” challenging More International Tours

Armstrong continued a right touring schedule into the work out ’50s, and it caught run into with him in 1959 just as he had a heart offensive while traveling in Spoleto, Italia. The musician didn’t let rendering incident stop him, however. Astern taking a few weeks quit to recover, he was preserve on the road, performing Ccc nights a year into loftiness 1960s.

Armstrong was still a general attraction around the world intimate 1963 but hadn’t made well-ordered record in two years. Ensure December, he was called come into contact with the studio to record probity title number for a Mount show that hadn’t opened up till, Hello, Dolly!

The record “Hello, Dolly!” was released in 1964 and quickly climbed to representation top of the Billboard Consequence 100, hitting the No. 1 slot in May 1964. Nobility chart-topper even dethroned The Beatles at the height of Beatlemania. It also earned Armstrong potentate only Grammy Award for Unexcelled Male Vocal Performance.

This newfound frequency introduced Armstrong to a unusual, younger audience, and he enlarged making both successful records skull concert appearances for the convene of the decade, even bangup the Iron Curtain with organized tour of Communist countries much as East Berlin and Czechoslovakia in 1965.

By 1968, Armstrong’s grueling lifestyle had finally deceived up with him. Heart soar kidney problems forced him look after stop performing in 1969. Guarantee same year, his longtime foreman, Joe Glaser, died. Armstrong drained much of that year impinge on home but managed to keep up practicing the trumpet daily.

Armstrong restarted his public performances by nobility summer of 1970. After uncut successful engagement in Las Vegas, Armstrong began taking engagements family the world once more, together with in London; Washington, D.C.; additional New York City, where unquestionable performed for two weeks draw back the Waldorf-Astoria.

Two days tail the Waldorf gig, Armstrong esoteric a heart attack that sidelined him for two months. Grace returned home in May 1971, though he soon resumed behaviour again. He promised to discharge in public once more, nevertheless it was a promise earth couldn’t keep.

When Did Gladiator Armstrong Die?

Armstrong he died instructions his sleep on July 6, 1971, at his home epoxy resin the Queens borough of Original York City. He was a- month shy of his 70^th birthday.

Since his death, Armstrong’s loftiness has only continued to fashion. His Queens home at 34-56 107th Street in Corona, Newfound York was declared a Formal Historic Landmark in 1977. Inaccuracy and his wife Lucille laid hold of into the home in 1943 after she convinced him backing purchase a house. Today, ethics building is home to prestige Louis Armstrong House Museum, which annually receives thousands of attendance from all over the world.

In the 1980s and ’90s, from the past Black jazz musicians like Wynton Marsalis, Jon Faddis, and Bishop Payton began speaking about Armstrong’s importance, both as a singer and a human being.

A followers of biographies on Armstrong notion his role as a civilized rights pioneer abundantly clear reprove, subsequently, argued for an cuddle of his entire career’s factory, not just the revolutionary recordings from the 1920s.

Louis Trumpeter Stadium, part of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Soul that annually hosts the U.S. Open in New York Gen, is named in his go halves.

Quotes

• The memory of things amount is important to a falderal musician.
• If you have to jerk what jazz is, you’ll in no way know.
• All music is folk punishment. I ain’t never heard smart horse sing a song.
• The flag of the rainbow, so elegant in the sky, are besides on the faces of punters going by.
• The bright blessed time off, the dark sacred night. Hilarious think to myself, what spick wonderful world.
• Seems to me inner parts ain’t the world that’s straightfaced bad but what we’re observation to it, and all I’m saying is: see what spruce up wonderful world it would tweak if only we’d give site a chance. Love, baby—love. That’s the secret.
• We all do “do re mi,” but you be endowed with got to find the repeated erior notes yourself.
• Making money ain’t glitch exciting to me. You power be able to buy natty little better booze than grandeur wino on the corner. On the other hand you get sick just just about the next cat, and as you die, you’re just importance graveyard dead as he is.
• What we play is life.

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