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. Related. William Armstrong, his father, was a factory worker who abandoned the family soon after the boy's birth. Armstrong brought. The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic, American actress, singer, director, producer. Wiki User. Louis Armstrong was an outstanding jazz musician during the Harlem Renaissance Era. Featuring young geniuses such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Miles Davis, the younger generation of musicians saw themselves as artists, not as entertainers. Eventually tour ended and Louis went back home to continue his. Armstrong was featured in the 1969 film of Hello, Dolly!, performing the title song as a duet with Barbra Streisand. Louis Armstrong was the most important and influential musician in jazz history. 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. He made his first recordings with Oliver on April 5, 1923; that day, he earned his first recorded solo on "Chimes Blues.". Jelly Roll, Doctor Jazz, Original Jelly Roll Blues, and many other famous pieces. He interprets and contributes to the genre of jazz, creates great form through his performance in the Hot Chocolates, and his work represents a whole for equality and the civil rights movement. To grasp how much the man adored this entre, consider that he often signed his personal letters with Red Beans and Ricely Yours.. See answer (1) Best Answer. When Wilson tired of living out of a suitcase during endless strings of one-nighters, she convinced Armstrong to purchase a house at 34-56 107th Street in Corona, Queens, New York. In July, Armstrong sailed to England for a tour. The latter performance is one of Armstrong's best known works, opening with a stunning cadenza that features equal helpings of opera and the blues; with its release, "West End Blues" proved to the world that the genre of fun, danceable jazz music was also capable of producing high art. 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. Louis Armstrong. If the gun was not so easily accessible, his firing it and being arrested could have been prevented. In September, his recording of that song entered the charts, becoming a Top Ten hit. To earn money, Armstrong sang on street corners, sold newspapers, and delivered coal. He was a groundbreaking musician and a pioneer in the development of jazz music. There was a cheerful impatience in his playing, an optimistic confidence that led him to risk going over the top (Shipton 157). Armstrong practiced his instrument and eventually he became the jazz great everyone knows today. 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. Armstrong was the primary ever "Genius" of jazz music. 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. Louis Armstrong was the greatest of all Jazz musicians. Louis Armstrong is arguably the most important musician that the United States has ever produced (Shipton 160). Glaser did just that; within a few months, Armstrong had a new big band and was recording for Decca Records. Armstrong continued to tour extensively, despite a heart attack in June 1959. WebLouis Armstrong was the most important and influential musician in jazz history. He was from a very poor family and was sent to reform school when he was twelve after firing a gun in the air on New Year's Eve. He worked for to get his instrument because his mother couldn't afford to buy him one. 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. When Armstrong returned to Chicago in 1935, he had no band, no engagements and no recording contract. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. The bottom line of any country in the world is what did we contribute to the world? Why Louis Armstrong was important? A year in New York with Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra proved unsatisfying so Armstrong returned to Chicago in 1925 and began making records under his own name for the first time. The material may show why Armstrong was not just a giant of jazz music, but a civil rights leader as well. Bebop, a new form of jazz, had blossomed in the 1940s. Louis Armstrong recorded many popular songs like La Vie en Rose, and his theme song When its Sleepy Time Down South. Being in many bands before he was not new to this. He was often left with his grandmother, and left school in fifth grade to start working. Seeing "the writing on the wall," Armstrong scaled down to a smaller six-piece combo, the All Stars; personnel would frequently change, but this would be the group Armstrong would perform live with until the end of his career. In addition Armstrong was also an influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser, bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes., On the 26th day of December in 1788 there was a very great success. 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. Finding Yourself, Dropping, Halfway. Louis's Father left him around childbirth, and his mother often used prostitution for money. Louis Armstrong was an American jazz musician who was one of the most influential figures in jazz music. 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. Unhappy, Armstrong left Henderson in 1925 to return to Chicago, where he began playing with his wife's band at the Dreamland Caf. Armstrong felt that being subservient to white people, was an unfortunately necessary evil in order for him to live successfully and happily. Armstrong continued to appear in major films with the likes of Mae West, Martha Raye and Dick Powell. His charismatic stage presence impressed not only the jazz world but all of popular music. Today, these are generally regarded as the most important and influential recordings in jazz history; on these records, Armstrong's virtuoso brilliance helped transform jazz from an ensemble music to a soloist's art. The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky are also on the faces of people going by. Armstrong had a difficult childhood: His father was a factory worker and abandoned the family soon after Louis's birth. WebA 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. WebLouis Armstrong was the protean genius that made African American classical music mislabeled as jazz the most important music event of the 20th century. There, under the tutelage of Peter Davis, he learned how to properly play the cornet, eventually becoming the leader of the Waifs Home Brass Band. WebWhy Is Louis Armstrong Important. Their marriage was not a happy one, however, and they divorced in 1942. ", During the mid-'50s, Armstrong's popularity overseas skyrocketed. By the summer of 1970, Armstrong was allowed to perform publicly again and play the trumpet. Jazz is a genre of music that brought a whole community of people together. The jazz magazine Down Beat agreed. Also in 1936, Louis Armstrong became the first African American to get featured billing in a major Hollywood movie with his turn in. Louis Armstrongs significance and most famous songs In 1936, he became the first African American jazz musician to write an autobiography. Why Is Louis Armstrong Important. There, he received musical instruction on the cornet and fell in love with music. 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. Louis was born in New Orleans where he grew up and learned to play the trumpet. 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. Satchmo didn't let the criticism stop him, however, and he returned an even bigger star when he began a longer tour throughout Europe in 1933. Then, at the age of five, he was returned to the care of his mother, who at the time worked as a laundress. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. In addition, his mother did not have a stable job and with his father long out of the picture, life was hard for young Armstrong. Despite failing to make a new record for two years, Armstrong remained a fan favorite. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. This essay will have an introduction of the king of jazz music -- Louis Armstrong and his great influence on jazz history. Louis Armstrong was the first black man in the U.S. to host a radio show. In 1972, a year after his death, he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. 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. 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. Love, baby - love. The book was titled Swing That Music. WebLouis Armstrong remains an icon of American history and 20 th century popular culture. With his amazing voice trumpet he created a band and made some records. WebHe 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. In America, Armstrong had been a great Civil Rights pioneer, breaking down Louis Armstrong was called "the single most important figure in the history of jazz" by Billboard magazine, a publication that tracks the recording industry. Legendary CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow followed Armstrong with a camera crew on some of his worldwide excursions, turning the resulting footage into a theatrical documentary, Satchmo the Great, released in 1957. When Armstrong was eleven years old, he got in trouble for shooting a gun on New Years Eve to ring in the new year, 1912. Music historians recognize this as the first popular, mass-market scat ever recorded. The story behind the jazz legends final hit and, quite simply, one of the most beautiful songs ever written. A year later, he was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. 34-56 107th Street, Queens, NY 11368 718-478-8274 2023 Louis Armstrong House Museum, 34-56 107th Street, Queens, NY 11368 718-478-8274, The Louis Armstrong House Museum is a constituent of the. Fletcher Henderson also influenced jazz music. The tune did, however, become a No. He was released on June 16, 1914, and did manual labor while trying to establish himself as a musician. Armstrong had gained sufficient individual notice to make his recording debut as a leader on November 12, 1925. Each of the books on jazz music will mention his name. At the school he learned to play cornet. There are two kinds of music, the good and the bad. 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. The Hot Fives' recording of "Muskrat Ramble" gave Armstrong a Top Ten hit in July 1926, the band for the track featuring Kid Ory on trombone, Johnny Dodds on clarinet, Lillian Harden Armstrong on piano, and Johnny St. Cyr on banjo. However, conditions changed when he was requested to record the title number of a broadway show that went on to become a hit. What a Wonderful World struck a chord with moviegoers and was re-released that year, becoming an oft-requested radio hit. Armstrongs unique singing and masterful improvisation transitioned jazz from the traditional style to a newer, more rhythmic style. Shortly thereafter, Armstrong bragged about the child to his manager, Joe Glaser, in a letter that would later be published in the book Louis Armstrong In His Own Words (1999). That didnt stop him from living his life like a regular boy. Study now. What was Louis Armstrongs childhood like? The new style that he created gave a voice-like quality to his horn. He started as a soloist for Henderson after marrying Lil Hardin. West End Blues by Louis Armstrong is one of the most important songs in jazz. Heart and kidney problems forced him to stop performing in 1969. The year is 1954. By that point, Armstrong began dating the pianist in the band, Lillian Hardin. They danced to the jazz music with a whole new style. Armstrong continued touring the world and making records with songs like Blueberry Hill (1949), Mack the Knife (1955) and Hello, Dolly! It has given me something to live for. Born, August 4, 1901 he started off in a harder life than most people usually do. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! He showed an early interest in music, and a junk dealer for whom he worked as a grade-school student helped him buy a cornet, which he taught himself to play. Armstrongs mentor, King Oliver, had Armstrong move to Chicago to be in his band; in Olivers, Aside from the typical cultural, social, and political factors influencing any musicians style, an early life filled with poverty and hardship also shaped Louis Armstrongs musical development. Armstrong's new manager, Joe Glaser, organized a big band for him that had its premiere in Indianapolis on July 1, 1935; for the next several years, he toured regularly. 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. Louis Armstrong was successful in jazz because he learned on his own with daily practice while influencing others with his music by making smiles appear on their face. He subsequently passed, so the duo contacted Armstrong in August 1967. Sources: 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. Death Year: 1971, Death date: July 6, 1971, Death State: New York, Death City: Corona, Queens, Death Country: United States, Article Title: Louis Armstrong Biography, Author: Biography.com Editors, Website Name: The Biography.com website, Url: https://www.biography.com/musicians/louis-armstrong, Publisher: A&E; Television Networks, Last Updated: January 29, 2021, Original Published Date: April 3, 2014. Study now. Why is Louis Armstrong important in the 20's? WebHe overcame poverty to become one of the most important people in the history of music. He began touring the country in the 1940s. He weathered the bebop period of the '40s, growing ever more beloved worldwide. He is remembered as the most influential artist in the early development of jazz. 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's daring vocal transformations of these songs completely changed the concept of popular singing in American popular music, and had lasting effects on all singers who came after him, including Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. That same year, Armstrong married for the fourth and final time; he wed Lucille Wilson, a Cotton Club dancer. He studied music there and played cornet and bugle in the school band, eventually becoming its leader. Jazz was born there and I remember when it was no crime for cats of any color to get together and blow. Nine years later, after this ban had finally lifted, he again took the stage in New Orleans on October 31, 1965. 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. According to this document, the performers actual birth date was August 4, 1901. Another one of Armstrongs notable qualities, scat singing (wordless singing/mummering) was also popularized during this. These views changed in 1957, when Armstrong saw the Little Rock Central High School integration crisis on television. His amazing technical abilities, the joy and spontaneity, and amazingly quick, inventive musical mind still dominate Jazz to this day. However, conditions changed when he was requested to record the title number of a broadway show that went on to become a hit. Why Is Louis Armstrong Important. He didn't own an instrument at this time, If one was to go out into the street, walked up to a random stranger and asked them if they knew who Louis Armstrong was, chances are that they would be able to answer you correctly. he put his soul and dedicated his life to his music. Pops had a special place in his heart for both Chinese and Italian food. By February 1927, Armstrong was well-enough known to front his own group, Louis Armstrong & His Stompers, at the Sunset Caf in Chicago. In America, Armstrong had been a great Civil Rights pioneer, breaking down numerous barriers as a young man. To untold millions, every note that he let loose made the world feel a bit more wonderful, and his music is still being discovered by new generations of fans. 232) Armstrong unlike other black jazz men and women, was one of the first to be welcomed in the upper echelons of white society. Armstrong began to sing on the records, creating a new form of singing, scat singing. Louis Armstrong used to give away laxatives as gifts. Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 4, 1901. He began to grow artistically and perfected his improvisational method (Jazz Stars 2). His mother, who often turned to prostitution, frequently left him with his maternal grandmother. Louis Armstrong is one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Many great performers have come out of the jazz industry, but the most widely known is Louis Satchmo Armstrong. An early job working for the Jewish Karnofsky family allowed Armstrong to make enough money to purchase his first cornet. Eldridge is the obvious link between Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie. Similarly, many of his most influential recordings, like 1928's "West End Blues" and 1955's "Mack the Knife," have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. 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 year 1956 saw Louisiana prohibit integrated bands. Different from most of his recordings of the era, the song features no trumpet and places Armstrong's gravelly voice in the middle of a bed of strings and angelic voices. In 1947, the waning popularity of the big bands forced Armstrong to begin fronting a small group, Louis Armstrong and His All Stars. Louis Armstrong is one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time. He was also a gifted singer, and his He influenced countless other musicians and helped to shape the course of jazz. 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.. Born in 1901 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Armstrong had a difficult childhood. The first recording of What a Wonderful World was produced by ABC Records, which made no attempt to advertise it domestically. I ain't never heard a horse sing a song. I play the good kind (Armstrong). Contracted to OKeh Records, he began to make a series of recordings with studio-only groups called the Hot Fives or the Hot Sevens. WebWhy Is Louis Armstrong Important. Nobody did what Louis could do. The record was released in 1964 and quickly climbed to the top of the pop music charts, hitting the No. In December of that year, he was called into the studio to record the title number for a Broadway show that hadn't opened yet: Hello, Dolly! Handy and Satch Plays Fats. Louis Armstrong is famous for his stunning jazz performance, unique vocals, and amazing styles with the trumpet/cornet. he put his soul and dedicated his life to his music. But, as a Bayou State native, Armstrongs favorite dish was always rice and beans. After completing the optimistic anthem, songwriters Bob Thiele and George David Weiss thought that Tony Bennett would eat it right up. They saw Armstrong's stage persona and music as old-fashioned and criticized him in the press. In 1922, King Oliver sent for Armstrong to join his band in Chicago. With the decline of swing music in the post-World War II years, Armstrong broke up his big band and put together a small group dubbed His All-Stars, which made its debut in Los Angeles on August 13, 1947. While in New York, Armstrong cut dozens of records as a sideman, creating inspirational jazz with other greats such as Sidney Bechet, and backing numerous blues singers including Bessie Smith. While not officially government-sponsored, there are some who believe the concert was arranged by the CIA, which would make this just one of the many taxpayer-funded appearances hed make abroad during the Cold War in an effort to strengthen diplomatic relations overseas. The boy's mother, Armstrong's cousin, had died in childbirth. Previously, Armstrong had performed throughout Europe, Asia, and Africathough he famously canceled a planned 1957 Soviet Union tour, citing the recent Little Rock crisis. Heebie Jeebies and Hotter Than That, was some of the earliest recordings of Armstrongs scat singing., He was a major piece in the history of jazz music and his career lasted for more than 50 years. Louis Armstrong was to jazz music what Bach is to classical music, Presley is to rock music (Berrett 230). 1. It is said that during a session, Armstrong dropped his sheet music and started mimicking the sounds of the horn with his voice. Louis Armstrong is considered a hero for many reasons. Armstrong joined Henderson in the fall of 1924 and immediately made his presence felt with a series of solos that introduced the concept of swing music to the band. ", Armstrong signed with Columbia Records in the mid-'50s, and soon cut some of the finest albums of his career for producer George Avakian, including Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. The musician didn't let the incident stop him, however, and after taking a few weeks off to recover, he was back on the road, performing 300 nights a year into the 1960s. In 1993, it gained renewed popularity when it was used in the film Sleepless in Seattle. By the mid-'40s, the Swing Era was winding down and the era of big bands was almost over. His rise to fame peaked in the 1920s, where he stunned the world with his bold trumpet style and idiosyncratic vocals. Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans Louisinana, to Mayann, and Willie Armstrong. Louis does a really important trip to Africa this were the states or cities that he went with Cameroon, the Belgian Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Sierra Leone Jul 6, 1971. The sadest event Two days after his birthday of turning 70, Louis Louis Armstrong is one of the most important jazz figures. Outraged, Armstrong refused to stage another concert within the state's borders. That same year, he recorded with small New Orleans-influenced groups, including the Hot Five, and began recording larger ensembles. Louis Armstrong was the most important and influential musician in jazz history. He was arrested for firing a pistol in Preston gave birth to a daughter, Sharon Preston, in 1955. Some even theorize that it was Armstrongs difficult upbringing that made his music so wise, so unique, and so revolutionary. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. Midway through the recording session, he accidentally dropped them and scatted to fill the ensuing silence. 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.". Here are 10 facts about the life of one of the 20th century's most important jazz musicians. Wiki User. 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. Related. That same year, his longtime manager, Joe Glaser, passed away. Louis Armstrong is one of the first great soloists in the 1920s musicians. Aristotle did not consider children as morally responsible as adults because they have not had sufficient time to move beyond their backgrounds and upbringing. Why was Louis Armstrong important to the Harlem Renaissance? Armstrong was brought up by his mother, Mary (Albert) Armstrong, and his maternal grandmother. Instead of doing strictly jazz numbers, OKeh began allowing Armstrong to record popular songs of the day, including "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," "Star Dust" and "Body and Soul.". Copy. Armstrong continued a grueling touring schedule into the late '50s, and it caught up with him in 1959, when he had a heart attack while traveling in Spoleto, Italy. He influenced other jazz musicians by his fearless trumpet styles and distinctive vocals. 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. Perhaps most importantly, the letters also detail Armstrong's fatherly love for Sharon. Armstrong completed his contract with Decca in 1954, after which his manager made the unusual decision not to sign him to another exclusive contract but instead have him freelance for different labels.
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