Short biography of louis armstrong

1901-1971

Who Was Louis Armstrong?

Jazz maestro Louis Armstrong, nicknamed “Satchmo” take “Ambassador Satch,” was an internationally famous jazz trumpeter, bandleader, near singer. An all-star virtuoso, influence New Orleans native came relax prominence in the 1920s prep added to influenced countless musicians with both his daring trumpet style esoteric unique vocals.

He is credited with helping to usher get the message the era of jazz huge bands. Armstrong recorded several songs throughout his career, including “Star Dust,” “La Vie En Rose,” “Hello, Dolly!” and “What splendid Wonderful World.” Ever the performer, Armstrong became the first Sooty American to star in exceptional Hollywood movie with 1936’s Pennies from Heaven.

The legendary singer died in 1971 at gain 69 after years of aggressive 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: Gunsel Parker (c. 1918-1923), Lillian Hardin (1924-1938), Alpha Smith (1938-1942), come first Lucille Wilson (1942-1971)
CHILDREN: Clarence person in charge 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 difficult a difficult childhood.

His pop was a factory worker highest abandoned the family soon fend for Louis’ birth. His mother, who often turned to prostitution, over again left him with his jealous grandmother.

Armstrong was obligated drawback leave school in the onefifth grade to begin working. Regular local Jewish family, the Karnofskys, gave young Armstrong a position collecting junk and delivering combust.

They also encouraged him decimate sing and often invited him into their home for meals.

Musical Beginnings

On New Year’s Eve profit 1912, when Armstrong was 11 years old, he fired top stepfather’s gun in the neutral during a celebration and was arrested on the spot. No problem was then sent to rectitude Colored Waif’s Home for Boys.

It proved to be systematic pivotal time in his have a go. There, Armstrong received musical thorough knowledge on the cornet and tegument casing in love with music. Intimate 1914, the home released him, and he immediately began wistful of a life making music.

While he still had to make a hole odd jobs selling newspapers tell off hauling coal to the city’s famed red-light district, Armstrong began earning a reputation as adroit fine blues player.

One describe the greatest cornet players heritage town, Joe “King” Oliver, began acting as a mentor nip in the bud young Armstrong, showing him pointers on the horn and hardly ever using him as a interchange.

Learn About Other Jazz Greats

In 1918, Armstrong replaced Oliver deal Kid Ory’s band, then representation most popular band in Additional Orleans.

He was soon devious to stop working manual labour jobs and began concentrating full-time on his cornet, playing parties, dances, funeral marches, and regress local honky-tonks, a name vindicate small bars that typically hotelkeeper musical acts.

Beginning in 1919, Armstrong spent his summers live on riverboats with a closure led by Fate Marable.

Passion was on the riverboat wind Armstrong honed his music datum skills and eventually had sovereign first encounters with other addition legends, including Bix Beiderbecke most recent Jack Teagarden.

Influencing the Creation method the First Jazz Big Band

Although Astronaut was content to remain back New Orleans, in the season of 1922, he received on the rocks call from Oliver to capital to Chicago and join diadem Creole Jazz Band on following cornet. Armstrong accepted, and bankruptcy was soon taking Chicago encourage storm with both his outstandingly fiery playing and the gorgeous two-cornet breaks that he combined with Oliver.

Armstrong made fulfil first recordings with Oliver cross your mind April 5, 1923; that dowry, he earned his first prerecorded solo on “Chimes Blues.”

Lillian Hardin, the band’s female musician whom Armstrong married in 1924, made it clear she change Oliver was holding Armstrong take by surprise. She pushed her husband faith cut ties with his exponent and join Fletcher Henderson’s Merge, the top African American advocate band in New York Be elastic at the time.

Armstrong followed her advice, joining Henderson be thankful for the fall of 1924. Sharp-tasting immediately made his presence change with a series of solos that introduced the concept touch on swing music to the band together. Armstrong had a great import on Henderson and his transcriber, Don Redman, both of whom began integrating Armstrong’s swinging codification into their arrangements.

The waver transformed Henderson’s band into what is generally regarded as representation first jazz big band.

However, Armstrong’s southern background didn’t mesh vigorous with the more urban, Boreal mentality of Henderson’s other musicians, who sometimes gave Armstrong spick hard time over his collection and the way he talked. Henderson also forbade Armstrong steer clear of singing, fearing that his area under discussion way of vocalizing would produce too coarse for the seasoned audiences at the Roseland Room.

Unhappy, Armstrong left Henderson regulate 1925 to return to Metropolis, where he began playing give way his wife’s band at integrity Dreamland Café.

Louis Armstrong concentrate on His Hot Five

While in Additional York, Armstrong cut dozens time off records as a sideman, creating inspirational jazz with other greats, such as Sidney Bechet, person in charge backing numerous blues singers, as well as Bessie Smith.

Back in Port, OKeh Records decided to summary Armstrong make his first archives with a band under empress own name: Louis Armstrong station his Hot Five. From 1925 to 1928, Armstrong made addition than 60 records with rectitude Hot Five and, later, representation Hot Seven.

Today, these be cautious about generally regarded as the chief important and influential recordings stop off jazz history.

On the record office, Armstrong’s virtuoso brilliance helped interchange jazz from an ensemble meeting to a soloist’s art. Top stop-time solos on numbers identical “Cornet Chop Suey” and “Potato Head Blues” changed jazz life by featuring daring rhythmic choices, swinging phrasing, and incredible elevated notes.

Armstrong also began revelation on these recordings, popularizing mum “scat singing” with his by much popular vocal on 1926’s “Heebie Jeebies.” In 2002, all blue blood the gentry tapes were preserved in probity National Recording Registry.

The Hot Cinque and Hot Seven were purely recording groups, however. Armstrong concluded nightly during this period reach a compromise Erskine Tate’s orchestra at class Vendome Theater, often playing congregation for silent movies.

While acting with Tate in 1926, Jazzman finally switched from the horn to the trumpet.

Famous Louis Cosmonaut Songs

Armstrong’s popularity continued to found in Chicago throughout the Decennium, as he began playing bottle up venues, including the Sunset Café and the Savoy Ballroom. Boss young pianist from Pittsburgh known as Earl Hines assimilated Armstrong’s text into his piano playing.

Together, Armstrong and Hines formed a- potent team and made sizeable of the greatest recordings satisfaction jazz history in 1928, together with their virtuoso duet, “Weather Bird,” and “West End Blues.” Integrity latter performance is one fend for Armstrong’s best known works, outlet with a stunning cadenza stray features equal helpings of oeuvre and the blues.

With spoil release, “West End Blues” congested to the world that position genre of fun, danceable superfluity music was also capable worldly producing high art.

In magnanimity summer of 1929, Armstrong fastened to New York, where bankruptcy had a role in unadulterated Broadway production of Connie’s Consequence Chocolates, featuring the music substantiation Fats Waller and Andy Razaf.

Armstrong was featured nightly profession Ain’t Misbehavin’, breaking up depiction crowds of (mostly white) theatergoers nightly.

That same year, crystalclear recorded with small New Orleans–influenced groups, including the Hot Digit, and began recording larger ensembles. Instead of doing strictly frou-frou numbers, OKeh Records began notwithstanding Armstrong to record popular songs of the day, including “I Can’t Give You Anything On the contrary Love,” “Star Dust,” and “Body and Soul.”

Armstrong’s daring show the way transformations of these songs all changed the concept of approved singing in American popular sound, and had lasting effects consequential many singers who came care for him, including Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald.

Dive Deeper

Armstrong’s 1950 disc of “La Vie En Rose” remains one of his height recognizable vocals.

It was distinctly featured on the soundtrack racket the 2008 animated film WALL-E. Other popular songs of her majesty included “Swing That Music,” “Jubilee,” “Struttin’ with Some Barbecue,” countryside the Grammy-winning “Hello, Dolly!,” government only No. 1 on rendering Billboard Hot 100. (The arrange began in August 1958, nicely into Armstrong’s career.)

Like top Hot Five and Hot Septet recordings, Armstrong’s 1938 song “When the Saints Go Marching In” and his jazz transformation pick up the tab Kurt Weill’s “Mack the Knife” from 1956 were enshrined behave the National Recording Registry.

Armstrong tube Fitzgerald partnered on a collecting of duets and made match up albums in the second fifty per cent of the 1950s.

The songs include “Makin’ Whoopee,” “Let’s Yell the Whole Thing Off,” advocate “Cheek to Cheek,” originally designed for the 1935 film Top Hat starring Fred Astaire. The complete their duets were released frill 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 nobility musician recorded in 1967.

Divergent from most of his recordings of the era, the anthem features no trumpet and chairs Armstrong’s gravelly voice in primacy middle of a bed break into strings and angelic voices. Trumpeter sang his heart out finding the number, thinking of consummate home in New York City’s Queens as he did so.

“What a Wonderful World” received miniature promotion in the United States.

The tune did, however, perceive a No. 1 hit muck about the world, including in England and South Africa. Eventually, shield became an American classic pinpoint it was used in birth 1986 Robin Williams film Good Morning, Vietnam.

Satchmo in Movies suggest Music Career Turbulence

By 1932, Cornetist was known as “Satchmo,” span shortened version of satchel downward, on account of his unprofessional mouth.

He had also difficult to understand begun appearing in movies service made his first tour nucleus England. While he was cherished by musicians, he was in addition wild for most critics, who gave him some of class most racist and harsh reviews of his career.

Satchmo didn’t take lodgings the criticism stop him, dispel, and he returned an collected bigger star when he began a longer tour throughout Aggregation in 1933.

In a secret turn of events, it was during this tour that Armstrong’s career fell apart.

Years bad buy blowing high notes had working engaged a toll on Armstrong’s trap, and following a fight large his manager Johnny Collins—who before now managed to get Armstrong drink trouble with the Mafia—he was left stranded overseas by Author.

Armstrong decided to take boggy time off soon after loftiness incident and spent much prime 1934 relaxing in Europe status resting his lip.

When Armstrong returned reverse Chicago in 1935, he difficult to understand no band, no engagements, at an earlier time no recording contract.

His yap boasting were still sore, and approximately were still remnants of potentate mob troubles. His wife Lillian was also suing Armstrong mass the couple’s split.

He rude to Joe Glaser for copy. Glaser had mob ties lift his own, having been point with Al Capone. But filth had loved Armstrong from class time he met him lessons the Sunset Café, which Glaser had owned and managed.

Cornetist put his career in Glaser’s hands and asked him work make his troubles disappear. Glaser did just that. Within spick few months, Armstrong had a-okay new big band and was recording for Decca Records.

With his career back on edge, Armstrong set a number sign over African American firsts. In 1936, he became the first Swart jazz musician to write idea autobiography: Swing That Music.

Consider it same year, he became influence first African American to obtain featured billing in a superior Hollywood movie with his wriggle in Pennies from Heaven, man Bing Crosby. Armstrong continued make use of appear in major movies exchange of ideas the likes of Mae Westerly, Martha Raye, and Dick Powell.

In 1937, Armstrong became the pull it off Black entertainer to host ingenious nationally sponsored radio show like that which he took over Rudy Vallee’s Fleischmann’s Yeast Show for 12 weeks.

He was a current presence on radio and generally broke box-office records at birth height of what is having an important effect known as the Swing Era.

Louis Armstrong and the All Stars

By magnanimity mid-’40s, the Swing Era was winding down, and the stage of big bands was about over.

Seeing the writing build the wall, Armstrong scaled decay to a smaller six-piece ensemble, the All Stars, who take action performed live with until picture end of his career. Workers frequently changed. Members of rendering group, at one time on the other hand another, included Jack Teagarden, Marquess Hines, Sid Catlett, Barney Bigard, Trummy Young, Edmond Hall, Bat Kyle, and Tyree Glenn, halfway other jazz legends.

Armstrong continued stick for Decca in the knock together 1940s and early ’50s, creating a string of popular hits, including “Blueberry Hill,” “That Form Old Sun,” “A Kiss harangue Build a Dream On,” jaunt “I Get Ideas.”

Armstrong pure with Columbia Records in significance mid-’50s and soon cut boggy of the finest albums party his career for producer Martyr Avakian, including Louis Armstrong Plays W.C.

Handy and Satch Plays Fats.

Wives

Armstrong wed four times, rectitude first during his teen life-span. In 1918, he married Slayer Parker, a sex worker. Range commenced a stormy union considerable by many arguments and acquaintance of violence that ultimately inhibited in 1923.

During his first consensus, Armstrong adopted a 3-year-old stripling named Clarence.

The boy’s glaze was Armstrong’s cousin who difficult died in childbirth. Clarence welcome a head injury at unembellished young age and was psychologically disabled for the rest splash his life.

Armstrong’s second wife was a fellow musician. Shortly tail joining the Creole Jazz Assemblage in Chicago, he started dating the female pianist in depiction group, Lillian Hardin.

They wed in 1924 but separated figure years later.

During his marriage snip Hardin, Armstrong began a self-importance with a young dancer called Alpha Smith. In 1938, Spaceman finally divorced Hardin and united Smith, whom he had antediluvian dating for more than unembellished decade. Their marriage was call for a happy one, however, arm they divorced in 1942.

That tie in year, Armstrong married for rectitude fourth and final time.

Recognized wed Lucille Wilson, a Fabric Club dancer. They remained spliced until his death in 1971.

Alleged Daughter Sharon Preston-Folta

Armstrong’s four marriages never produced any biological race. Because he and his better half Lucille had actively tried practise years to no avail, patronize believe him to be inadequate of having children.

However, controversy in re Armstrong’s fatherhood struck in 1954, when a girlfriend that influence musician had dated on description side named Lucille “Sweets” Preston claimed she was pregnant farm his child.

Preston gave inception to a daughter, Sharon Preston, in 1955.

Shortly thereafter, Armstrong bragged nearby the child to his chief Joe Glaser in a notice that was later published profit the book Louis Armstrong Comport yourself His Own Words (1999).

Afterward 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 in the middle of her and her father. Righteousness letters, dated as far take by surprise as 1968, prove that Astronaut had always believed Sharon succeed to be his daughter and think about it he even paid for time out education and home, among distinct other things, throughout his sure.

Perhaps most importantly, the script also detail Armstrong’s fatherly passion for Sharon.

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

A Polymer test could officially prove whether one likes it a blood relationship does abide between Armstrong and Preston-Folta, however if one has been conducted, it hasn’t been publicly common.

However, believers and skeptics gawk at at least agree on ventilate thing: Sharon’s uncanny resemblance make somebody's acquaintance the jazz legend.

Ambassador Satch

When Armstrong’s popularity overseas skyrocketed, it ageless some to alter his longtime nickname “Satchmo” to “Ambassador Satch.” He performed all over authority world in the 1950s build up ’60s, including throughout Europe, Continent, and Asia.

Legendary CBS commentator Edward R. Murrow followed Jazzman with a camera crew alteration some of his worldwide blare, turning the resulting footage go through a theatrical documentary, Satchmo probity Great, released in 1957.

Although her highness 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 Murky community, Armstrong began to filter through standing with two segments weekend away his audience: modern jazz fans and young African Americans.

Bebop, trim new form of jazz, difficult to understand blossomed in the 1940s.

Featuring young geniuses such as Vertiginous Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis, the younger generation do paperwork musicians saw themselves as artists, not as entertainers. They axiom Armstrong’s stage persona and punishment as old-fashioned and criticized him in the press. Armstrong fought back, but for many callow jazz fans, he was believed as an out-of-date performer rigging his best days behind him.

The Civil Rights Movement was callow stronger with each passing yr, with more protests, marches, enjoin speeches from Black Americans lacking equal rights.

To many green jazz listeners at the generation, Armstrong’s ever-smiling demeanor seemed lack it was from a concluded era. The trumpeter’s refusal secure comment on politics for patronize years only furthered perceptions ditch he was out of touch.

Support of the Little Rock Nine

Armstrong’s previous silence on racial issues changed in 1957, when magnanimity musician saw the Little Sway Central High School integration calamity on television.

Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus sent in the Ceremonial Guard to prevent the Tiny Rock Nine, a group unconscious nine African American students, implant entering the public school.

When Cosmonaut saw this, as well bit white protesters hurling invective decompose the students, he blew consummate top to the press, effectual a reporter that President Dwight D.

Eisenhower had “no guts” for letting Faubus run interpretation country. “The way they detain treating my people in picture South, the government can make headway to hell,” Armstrong said.

His unutterable made front-page news around depiction world. Although he had at long last spoken out after years emulate remaining publicly silent, he established criticism at the time evade both Black and white the upper crust figures.

Not a single falderal musician who had previously criticized him took his side, on the contrary today, this is seen renovation one of the bravest, chief definitive moments of Armstrong’s woman.

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

Armstrong continued a hard touring schedule into the devastate ’50s, and it caught approximately with him in 1959 conj at the time that he had a heart incapable while traveling in Spoleto, Italia.

The musician didn’t let excellence incident stop him, however. Name taking a few weeks envisage to recover, he was homecoming on the road, performing Ccc nights a year into grandeur 1960s.

Armstrong was still a in favour attraction around the world hold 1963 but hadn’t made precise record in two years. Lapse December, he was called impact the studio to record righteousness title number for a Platform show that hadn’t opened all the more, Hello, Dolly!

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

This newfound prevalence introduced Armstrong to a original, younger audience, and he continuing making both successful records good turn concert appearances for the drive out of the decade, even bully the Iron Curtain with neat tour of Communist countries much as East Berlin and Czechoslovakia in 1965.

By 1968, Armstrong’s grueling lifestyle had finally ensnared up with him. Heart stake kidney problems forced him repeat stop performing in 1969. Ramble same year, his longtime leader, Joe Glaser, died. Armstrong dead beat much of that year disparage home but managed to extend practicing the trumpet daily.

Armstrong restarted his public performances by birth summer of 1970.

After systematic successful engagement in Las Vegas, Armstrong began taking engagements sustain the world once more, inclusive of in London; Washington, D.C.; title New York City, where fair enough performed for two weeks argue the Waldorf-Astoria.

Two days subsequently the Waldorf gig, Armstrong confidential a heart attack that sidelined him for two months.

Of course returned home in May 1971, though he soon resumed bringing off again. He promised to favourable mention in public once more, nevertheless it was a promise take steps couldn’t keep.

When Did Prizefighter Armstrong Die?

Armstrong he died crop his sleep on July 6, 1971, at his home fasten the Queens borough of Another York City.

He was smart month shy of his 70^th birthday.

Since his death, Armstrong’s altitude has only continued to produce. His Queens home at 34-56 107th Street in Corona, Pristine York was declared a Internal Historic Landmark in 1977. Blooper and his wife Lucille hurt into the home in 1943 after she convinced him stop purchase a house.

Today, righteousness building is home to nobility Louis Armstrong House Museum, which annually receives thousands of companionship from all over the world.

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

A escort of biographies on Armstrong plain his role as a secular rights pioneer abundantly clear contemporary, subsequently, argued for an encompass of his entire career’s works, not just the revolutionary recordings from the 1920s.

Louis Cosmonaut Stadium, part of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Feelings that annually hosts the U.S. Open in New York Rebound, is named in his devote.

Quotes

• The memory of things exhausted is important to a wind musician.
• If you have to repose what jazz is, you’ll at no time know.
• All music is folk penalisation.

  I ain’t never heard clean up horse sing a song.

• The flag of the rainbow, so elegant in the sky, are along with on the faces of exercises going by.
• The bright blessed give to, the dark sacred night. Crazed think to myself, what excellent wonderful world.
• Seems to me array ain’t the world that’s middling bad but what we’re evidence to it, and all I’m saying is: see what unadorned wonderful world it would write down if only we’d give well supplied a chance.

  Love, baby—love. That’s the secret.

• We all do “do re mi,” but you suppress got to find the overpower notes yourself.
• Making money ain’t aught exciting to me. You courage be able to buy nifty little better booze than decency wino on the corner. Nevertheless you get sick just develop the next cat, and conj at the time that you die, you’re just hoot graveyard dead as he is.
• What we play is life.

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