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. ", During the mid-'50s, Armstrong's popularity overseas skyrocketed. he put his soul and dedicated his life to his music. WebLouis Armstrong is arguably the most important musician that the United States has ever produced (Shipton 160). 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. At one point in Heebie Jeebiesa 1926 song released by Armstrong and his "Hot Five bandthe singer vocalizes a series of nonsensical, horn-like sounds. He began touring the country in the 1940s. His career rose in New Orleans. 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. But you get sick just like the next cat and when you die you're just as graveyard dead as he is. 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.. Released from the Waifs Home in 1914, Armstrong set his sights on becoming a professional musician. Sources: By the end of his teens, Armstrong had grown up fast. Born, August 4, 1901 he started off in a harder life than most people usually do. Willies habit of devoting all his attention to his second, Because firing guns to welcome in the New Year was a New Orleans custom, he thought (even at 11 years old) that it would be morally acceptable to fire the gun. In 1936, Louis Armstrong became the first African American jazz musician to write an autobiography, Swing That Music. In the summer of 1929, Armstrong headed to New York, where he had a role in a Broadway production of Connie's Hot Chocolates, featuring the music of Fats Waller and Andy Razaf. Perhaps most importantly, the letters also detail Armstrong's fatherly love for Sharon. Louis Armstrong was important in the 1920's because he put a whole new meaning to jazz. 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. See answer (1) Best Answer. He is a husky singer, often with a trumpet in his hand. 1 slot in May 1964, and knocking the Beatles off the top at the height of Beatlemania. In 1988, music historian Thaddeus Tad Jones located a baptismal record at New Orleanss Sacred Heart of Jesus Church. When Armstrong returned to Chicago in 1935, he had no band, no engagements and no recording contract. Flappers were commonly known during this time. Armstrong spent much of that year at home, but managed to continue practicing the trumpet daily. In 1967, Armstrong recorded a new ballad, "What a Wonderful World." Louis Armstrong is one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. According to Armstrong, that nights biggest laugh came right before his group started playing You Rascal, You. Without warning, he looked straight up at the monarch and hollered, This ones for you, Rex!, Fresh off the wild success of his Hello, Dolly! cover, Armstrong made a trip to communist East Berlin in 1965, where he gave a two-hour concert that earned a standing ovation. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. His charismatic stage presence impressed not only the jazz world but all of popular music. (Biography.com), Many people knew Louis Armstrong as the first real genius of jazz(Shipton 26). Evidently, the show went well. Armstrong decided to take some time off soon after the incident, and spent much of 1934 relaxing in Europe and resting his lip. While he was beloved by musicians, he was too wild for most critics, who gave him some of the most racist and harsh reviews of his career. His mother, Mayann, was 15 years old when he was born and his father, Willie, abandoned them soon after. Louis Armstrong is one of the most important jazz figures. Armstrong was an African American child growing up in the slums of New Orleans, close to abandonment, impoverished, and with too few constant people, resources, or homes. Here is one paragraph from the post: From the very first note of West End Blues, a tune composed by Joe King Oliver, one can immediately sense the shift that 149 Copy quote. Armstrong was the primary ever "Genius" of jazz music. The single's B-side, and also a chart entry, was "A Kiss to Build a Dream On," sung by Armstrong in the film The Strip. To many young jazz listeners at the time, Armstrong's ever-smiling demeanor seemed like it was from a bygone era, and the trumpeter's refusal to comment on politics for many years only furthered perceptions that he was out of touch. Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 4, 1901. Armstrong and Oliver became the talk of the town with their intricate two-cornet breaks and started making records together in 1923. 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. 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. That's the secret. He also began appearing in the orchestra of Hot Chocolates, a Broadway revue, and was given a featured spot singing "Ain't Misbehavin'." 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. To grasp how much the man adored this entre, consider that he often signed his personal letters with Red Beans and Ricely Yours.. 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. Wiki User. He moved to the Fate Marable band in the spring of 1919, staying with Marable until the fall of 1921. By the mid-'40s, the Swing Era was winding down and the era of big bands was almost over. After a successful engagement in Las Vegas, Armstrong began taking engagements around the world, including in London and Washington, D.C. and New York (he performed for two weeks at New York's Waldorf-Astoria). ", Armstrong's fully healed lip made its presence felt on some of the finest recordings of career, including "Swing That Music," "Jubilee" and "Struttin' with Some Barbecue.". Because of Armstrongs brilliance, his records such as Cornet Chop Suey and Potato Head Blues are esteemed because of his risky rhythmic choices and high notes. They danced to the jazz music with a whole new style. WebImportance of Louis Armstrong. Doctors advised him not to play but Armstrong continued to practice every day in his Corona, Queens home, where he had lived with his fourth wife, Lucille, since 1943. There was a cheerful impatience in his playing, an optimistic confidence that led him to risk going over the top (Shipton 157). With the assistance of the jazz musicians, the music industry, Making his voice sound like a musical instrument and singing nonsense syllables with no words created Scat singing. He embarked on his first European tour since 1935 in February 1948, and thereafter toured regularly around the world. .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. The first recording of What a Wonderful World was produced by ABC Records, which made no attempt to advertise it domestically. When Pops (who adored Thiele and Weiss masterwork) passed away on July 6, 1971, What a Wonderful World seemed destined for stateside obscurity. The family treated Armstrong like a member, bought him his first trumpet, and encouraged his musical aspirations. Louis Armstrong was an outstanding jazz musician during the Harlem Renaissance Era. During this period, he switched from cornet to trumpet. WebLouis Armstrong was the protege of King Oliver and one of the best loved musicians of the Twenties. When Armstrong saw this as well as white protesters hurling invective at the students he blew his top to the press, telling a reporter that President Dwight D. Eisenhower had "no guts" for letting Faubus run the country, and stating, "The way they are treating my people in the South, the government can go to hell.". He sang much as he played, but with a playfulness and a rasp, that would forever be part of American culture (Winfield 167). However, conditions changed when he was requested to record the title number of a broadway show that went on to become a hit. The way they are treating my people in the South, declared Armstrong, the government can go to hell.. Louis Armstrong was the greatest of all Jazz musicians. With his amazing voice trumpet he created a band and made some records. 1 hit around the world, including in England and South Africa, and eventually became one of Armstrong's most-beloved songs after it was used in the 1986 Robin Williams film Good Morning, Vietnam. Despite failing to make a new record for two years, Armstrong remained a fan favorite. Armstrong spent his youth singing on the street for spare change, but he didnt receive any formal musical training until age 11. 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. Heart and kidney problems forced him to stop performing in 1969. "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. 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. Armstrong made his first trip abroad, to Europe, and received the nickname Satchmo from his original nickname Satchelmouth, because of his big lips. By 1968, Armstrong's grueling lifestyle had finally caught up with him. Armstrong continued to tour extensively, despite a heart attack in June 1959. What a Wonderful World struck a chord with moviegoers and was re-released that year, becoming an oft-requested radio hit. He was often left with his grandmother, and left school in fifth grade to start working. He made his first recordings with Oliver on April 5, 1923; that day, he earned his first recorded solo on "Chimes Blues.". 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.. With his daring rhythmic choice, swinging vocabulary, and incredibly high notes; changing jazz history once again. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Related. He made his film debut in Ex-Flame, released at the end of 1931. A YouTube poster named pandasthumb describes the piece. He attended Colored Waifs Home in 1913 for eighteen months. WebDid You Know? That same year, his longtime manager, Joe Glaser, passed away. In April, he reached the charts with his first vocal recording, "Big Butter and Egg Man," a duet with May Alix. 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. Within a span of three years, Armstrong recorded over sixty records. 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). Louis Armstrong was the first black man in the U.S. to host a radio show. While performing with Tate in 1926, Armstrong finally switched from the cornet to the trumpet. Armstrong returned home in May 1971, and though he soon resumed playing again and promised to perform in public once more, he died in his sleep on July 6, 1971, at his home in Queens, New York. By that point, Armstrong began dating the pianist in the band, Lillian Hardin. Renowned for his charming and incredibly charismatic stage presence and voice almost as much as for his trumpet and/or cornet playing, Armstrong 's influence extends far beyond jazz music, and by the end of his career in the early 1970s at his death, he was widely regarded as a deep and profound influence on popular music in general. He was one of America's most significant artists by the late 1930s, and had created a sensation in Europe with live performances and records. 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. Eldridge is the obvious link between Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie. 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. The first important trend in New York Jazz was Hot Jazz that was an incendiary style introduced by Louis Armstrong (Winfield 170). "What a Wonderful World" peaked on the U.S. music charts after Armstrong passed away. Making money ain't nothing exciting to me. For the first time, Armstrong was really able to demonstrate his unique voice during those recording sessions. Contracted to OKeh Records, he began to make a series of recordings with studio-only groups called the Hot Fives or the Hot Sevens. As an artist, Armstrong was embraced by two distinctly different audiences: jazz fans who revered him for his early innovations as an instrumentalist but were occasionally embarrassed by his lack of interest in later developments in jazz, especially his willingness to serve as a light entertainer; and pop fans, who delighted in his joyous performances, particularly as a vocalist, but were largely unaware of his significance as a jazz musician. Armstrong was brought up by his mother, Mary (Albert) Armstrong, and his maternal grandmother. 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. Louis Armstrong is one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time. For live dates, he appeared with the orchestras led by Erskine Tate and Carroll Dickerson. From 1925 to 1928, Armstrong made more than 60 records with the Hot Five and, later, the Hot Seven. In 1922, King Oliver sent for Armstrong to join his band in Chicago. 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. 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. 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. All Rights Reserved. After completing the optimistic anthem, songwriters Bob Thiele and George David Weiss thought that Tony Bennett would eat it right up. In 16967, Armstrong recorded his most renowned tune, What a Wonderful Word that surprisingly featured no trumpet. 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. He would attend parades, funerals, churches and go to cheap cabarets to be able to hear some of the greats play, Little Louis sung in a vocal quartet in his early teens. Because of his long improvised solos, he inspired jazz so that long solos became an important part of jazz pieces and performances. 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.. 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. (Hakim, 58) Although Jazz was very popular itself, a majority of the fans and listeners were younger people. Aint that stupid? 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.