He also played as a second trumpet for King Oliver. What a Wonderful World struck a chord with moviegoers and was re-released that year, becoming an oft-requested radio hit. In 1922, his mentor, King Oliver, invited him to work his Creole Jazz Band in Chicago. The 1930s also found Armstrong achieving great popularity on radio, in films, and with his recordings. He adds, "He was also more than a jazz musician he was an enormously popular entertainer"(pp. Despite failing to make a new record for two years, Armstrong remained a fan favorite. 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. Though Armstrong was content to remain in New Orleans, in the summer of 1922, he received a call from Oliver to come to Chicago and join his Creole Jazz Band on second cornet. That same year, Armstrong married for the fourth and final time; he wed Lucille Wilson, a Cotton Club dancer. 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. Louis Armstrong was a pivotal musician in the twentieth century, but it was his contributions and his role he made during the Harlem Renaissance movement that is most substantial. According to this document, the performers actual birth date was August 4, 1901. During this time, Armstrong taught the band how to swing. It's also worth noting that even though he brought it into popularity, Armstrong in no way invented the technique, which dates back to at least 1906. A jazz pioneer, Louis Armstrong was the first important soloist to emerge in jazz, and he became the most influential musician in the music's history. With his infectious smile and raspy voice, Louis Armstrong (who actually pronounced his own name "Lewis") won over fans worldwide. Eldridge is the obvious link between Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie. Not a single jazz musician who had previously criticized him took his side but today, this is seen as one of the bravest, most definitive moments of Armstrong's life. Armstrong made his first trip abroad, to Europe, and received the nickname Satchmo from his original nickname Satchelmouth, because of his big lips. Louis was the illegitimate son of William Armstrong and Mary Est Mayann Albert. Heart and kidney problems forced him to stop performing in 1969. His greatest inspiration was Joe King Oliver. He also began appearing in the orchestra of Hot Chocolates, a Broadway revue, and was given a featured spot singing "Ain't Misbehavin'." 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. The memory of things gone is important to a jazz musician. No ones quite sure why Armstrong lied about his age, but the most popular theories maintain he wanted to join a military band or that he figured he'd have a better shot at landing gigs if he was over 18 years old. Armstrong soon began dating the female pianist in the band, Lillian Hardin. Pops had a special place in his heart for both Chinese and Italian food. But, as a Bayou State native, Armstrongs favorite dish was always rice and beans. 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. Louis Armstrong was an American jazz musician who was one of the most influential figures in jazz music. 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. Ironically, Armstrong later wrote the whole thing off as a big blunder on his part. Louis Daniel (Louie) Armstrong is perhaps the most important and influential person in the history of jazz music, swing music, and jazz vocal styling. 149 Copy quote. After completing the optimistic anthem, songwriters Bob Thiele and George David Weiss thought that Tony Bennett would eat it right up. During this time, Armstrong adopted a three-year-old boy named Clarence. That same year, he became the first African American to get featured billing in a major Hollywood movie with his turn in Pennies from Heaven, starring Bing Crosby. The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic, American actress, singer, director, producer. In a 1951 interview with Esquire, Armstrong claimed to have come prepared with printed lyrics that day. WebWhy Is Louis Armstrong Important. These views changed in 1957, when Armstrong saw the Little Rock Central High School integration crisis on television. 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. Armstrong was a busy man, he always had more than one thing going on, if he wasnt recording with Hot Five/Seven, he was performing in the Vendome theatre, playing music for silent movies.. Midway through the recording session, he accidentally dropped them and scatted to fill the ensuing silence. Louis Armstrong was to jazz music what Bach is to classical music, Presley is to rock music (Berrett 230). His crucial contribution to American and world culture continues to reverberate into the 21 st century. He first came to prominence in the 1920s as a trumpeter and cornet player with no technique as well as being very skilled in scat singing, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, influencing many later jazz artists as well as shifting the focus of the music from collective improvisation to solo performance.With his very well-known and recognizable gravelly voice, a technique that was later named crooning, Armstrong was an incredibly influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser by bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes on demand. See answer (1) Best Answer. He was a master of the trumpet and a skilled improviser, and his style of playing influenced many other jazz musicians. This pop success was repeated internationally four years later with "What a Wonderful World," which hit number one in the U.K. in April 1968. A local Jewish family, the Karnofskys, gave young Armstrong a job collecting junk and delivering coal. Meanwhile, Armstrong's reputation as a musician continued to grow: In 1918, he replaced Oliver in Kid Ory's band, then the most popular band in New Orleans. those works included Cotton Tail and Ko-Ko. Some of his most popular songs included "It Don 't Mean a Thing if It Ain 't Got That Swing," "Sophisticated Lady," "Prelude to a Kiss," "Solitude," and "Satin Doll (Duke Ellington Biography). 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. 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. Encyclopdia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them. 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. Armstrong's charismatic stage presence impressed not only the jazz world but all of popular music. 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. 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. "What a Wonderful World" peaked on the U.S. music charts after Armstrong passed away. The records by Louis Armstrong and His Fiveand later, Hot Sevenare the most influential in jazz. Louis Armstrong recorded many popular songs like La Vie en Rose, and his theme song When its Sleepy Time Down South. The jazz magazine Down Beat agreed. On New Years Eve 1912, he was arrested and sent to the Colored Waifs Home for Boys. Beginning in 1919, Armstrong spent his summers playing on riverboats with a band led by Fate Marable. Jazz is a genre of music that brought a whole community of people together. Mozart, in his own traditional ways, the right away he did the first three of his 22 performances at that opera. His career rose in New Orleans. In 1967, Armstrong recorded a new ballad, "What a Wonderful World." His mother, who often turned to prostitution, frequently left him with his maternal grandmother. The civil rights movement was growing stronger with each passing year, with more protests, marches and speeches from African Americans wanting equal rights. All Rights Reserved. During his span, he composed thousands of songs for everyone to hear. WebCourtesy of the Louis Armstrong Archive Queens College, CUNY. Armstrong began to sing on the records, creating a new form of singing, scat singing. He faced tremendous adversity, ignorance and hatred in his life, and fought back without sinking to the level of those who opposed him. 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. 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. Aristotle did not consider children as morally responsible as adults because they have not had sufficient time to move beyond their backgrounds and upbringing. One of the first soloists on record, Louis was at the forefront of changing jazz from ensemble-oriented folk music into an art form that emphasized inventive solo improvisations. It has given me something to live for. WebLouis Armstrongs ability to use his career to change the music and jazz industry forever is another great example of why Louis Armstrong exhibits the right. Duke Ellingtons sense of musical drama was the one that made him stand out from all of the rest., Armstrong became the best jazz soloist on Broadway (Louis Armstrong 1). At His Majestys command, several of the biggest names in jazz took their talents to Buckingham Palace, and in 1932, Armstrong was requested for a royal performance. Eventually tour ended and Louis went back home to continue his. With his amazing voice trumpet he created a band and made some records. Aint that stupid? Show More. He fused the jazz style of the place where he grew up with well known jazz of Broadway to coordinate a better than ever kind of jazz. The lights dim, and the velvet curtains slide open. Within a span of three years, Armstrong recorded over sixty records. Study now. Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 4, 1901. The material may show why Armstrong was not just a giant of jazz music, but a civil rights leader as well. The solos Armstrong performed along with his popular scat singing helped make jazz musicians more popular along with making the fans take notice of Armstrong and jazz itself (Rennert 8).