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Trumpet player and singer Louis Armstrong was one of the world’s greatest jazz musicians. He helped raise jazz to the level of a fine art, and he influenced nearly all jazz horn players who came after him.
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Introduction. AP. (1901–71). American trumpeter, singer, and...
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Armstrong was born in New Orleans on August 4, 1901. His parents were Mary Estelle "Mayann" Albert and William Armstrong. Mary Albert was from Boutte, Louisiana, and gave birth at home when she was about sixteen. Less than a year and a half later, they had a daughter, Beatrice "Mama Lucy" Armstrong (1903–1987), who was raised by Albert. William Arm...
Riverboat education
Early in his career, Armstrong played in brass bands and riverboats in New Orleans, first on an excursion boat in September 1918. He traveled with the band of Fate Marable, which toured on the steamboat Sidney with the Streckfus Steamers line up and down the Mississippi River. Marable was proud of his musical knowledge, and he insisted that Armstrong and other musicians in his band learn sight reading. Armstrong described his time with Marable as "going to the University", since it gave him a...
Chicago recordings
In 1922, Armstrong moved to Chicago at the invitation of King Oliver, although Armstrong would return to New Orleans periodically for the rest of his life. Playing second cornet to Oliver in Oliver's Creole Jazz Band in the black-only Lincoln Gardens in Chicago's black neighborhood, he could make enough money to quit his day jobs. Although race relations were poor, Chicago was booming. The city had jobs for blacks making good wages at factories with some left over for entertainment. Oliver's...
Fletcher Henderson Orchestra
Armstrong and Oliver parted amicably in 1924. Shortly afterward, Armstrong received an invitation to go to New York City to play with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, the top African-American band of the time. He switched to the trumpet to blend in better with the other musicians in his section. His influence on Henderson's tenor sax soloist, Coleman Hawkins, can be judged by listening to the records made by the band during this period. Armstrong adapted to the tightly controlled style of He...
Pronunciation of name
In a memoir written for Robert Goffin between 1943 and 1944, Armstrong stated, "All white folks call me Louie," suggesting that he himself did not, or that no whites addressed him by one of his nicknames such as Pops. That said, Armstrong was registered as "Lewie" for the 1920 U.S. Census. On various live records he is called "Louie" on stage, such as on the 1952 "Can Anyone Explain?" from the live album In Scandinavia vol.1. The same applies to his 1952 studio recording of the song "Chloe",...
Family
Armstrong was performing at the Brick House in Gretna, Louisiana, when he met Daisy Parker. On March 19, 1919, Armstrong and Parker married at City Hall. They adopted a three-year-old boy, Clarence, whose mother, Armstrong's cousin Flora, had died soon after giving birth. Clarence Armstrong was mentally disabled as a result of a head injury at an early age, and Armstrong spent the rest of his life taking care of him. His marriage to Parker ended when they separated in 1923. On February 4, 192...
Personality
Armstrong was colorful and charismatic. His autobiography vexed some biographers and historians because he had a habit of telling tales, particularly about his early childhood when he was less scrutinized, and his embellishments lack consistency. In addition to being an entertainer, Armstrong was a leading personality. He was beloved by an American public that usually offered little access beyond their public celebrity to even the greatest African Americanperformers, and he was able to live a...
Horn playing and early jazz
In his early years, Armstrong was best known for his virtuosity with the cornet and trumpet. Along with his "clarinet-like figurations and high notes in his cornet solos", he was also known for his "intense rhythmic 'swing', a complex conception involving ... accented upbeats, upbeat to downbeat slurring, and complementary relations among rhythmic patterns." The most lauded recordings on which Armstrong plays trumpet include the Hot Five and Hot Seven sessions, as well as those of the Red Oni...
Vocal popularity
As his music progressed and popularity grew, his singing also became very important. Armstrong was not the first to record scat singing, but he was masterful at it and helped popularize it with the first recording on which he scatted, "Heebie Jeebies". At a recording session for Okeh Records, when the sheet music supposedly fell on the floor and the music began before he could pick up the pages, Armstrong simply started singing nonsense syllables while Okeh President E.A. Fearn, who was at th...
Composing
Armstrong was a gifted composer who wrote more than fifty songs, some of which have become jazz standards (e.g., "Gully Low Blues", "Potato Head Blues" and "Swing That Music").
Armstrong appeared in more than a dozen Hollywood films, usually playing a bandleader or musician. His most familiar role was as the bandleader cum narrator in the 1956 musical High Society, starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Celeste Holm. He appears throughout the film, sings the title song, and performs the duet "Now You Has Ja...
Against his doctor's advice, Armstrong played a two-week engagement in March 1971 at the Waldorf-Astoria's Empire Room. At the end of it, he was hospitalized for a heart attack. He was released from the hospital in May, and quickly resumed practicing his trumpet playing. Still hoping to get back on the road, Armstrong died of a heart attack in his ...
Grammy Awards
Armstrong was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1972 by the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. This Special Merit Award is presented by vote of the Recording Academy's National Trustees to performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording.
Grammy Hall of Fame
Recordings of Armstrong were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least 25 years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance".
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed Armstrong's West End Blueson the list of 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll.
The influence of Armstrong on the development of jazz is virtually immeasurable. His irrepressible personality both as a performer and as a public figure was so strong that to some it sometimes overshadowed his contributions as a musician and singer. As a virtuoso trumpet player, Armstrong had a unique tone and an extraordinary talent for melodic i...
Apr 18, 2022 · Step into the world of jazz with an exploration of the incomparable Louis Armstrong, whose soulful melodies and charismatic persona left an indelible mark on music history. From the streets of...
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Learn about the life and career of Louis Armstrong, one of the most influential figures in jazz music. Find out how he became a famous musician, singer, and actor, and discover some interesting facts about him.
Playing For Change is proud to present this video of the song "What A Wonderful World" featuring Grandpa Elliott with children's choirs across the globe. In ...
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Jan 7, 2019 · Learn about the life and career of Louis Armstrong, one of the most influential figures in jazz, with this 22-page worksheet pack. Find out about his early years, his musical achievements, his personal life and his legacy.
Introduction. AP. (1901–71). American trumpeter, singer, and bandleader Louis Armstrong became a world ambassador for jazz. His genius for improvisation—the free performance of a musical passage—changed the course of this type of music.
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