[13] His mother moved into a one-room house on Perdido Street with Armstrong, Lucy, and her common-law husband, Tom Lee, next door to her brother Ike and his two sons. [92] However, in December 2012, 57-year-old Sharon Preston-Folta claimed to be his daughter from a 1950s affair between Armstrong and Lucille "Sweets" Preston, a dancer at the Cotton Club. 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. He turned to Joe Glaser for help; Glaser had mob ties of his own, having been close with Al Capone, but he had loved Armstrong from the time he met him at the Sunset Caf (Glaser had owned and managed the club). Norman Granz then had the vision for Ella and Louis to record Porgy and Bess. [79], Armstrong toured well into his 60s, even visiting part of the Communist Bloc in 1965. [93] In a 1955 letter to his manager, Joe Glaser, Armstrong affirmed his belief that Preston's newborn baby was his daughter, and ordered Glaser to pay a monthly allowance of $400 ($5,462 in 2022 dollars[94]) to mother and child. Louis Armstrong - Biography, Jazz Musician, Trumpeter, Singer Louis Armstrong's unique artistry is documented for posterity by his legacy of marvellous recordings in this release from Verve, The Ultimate Collection. He made his first recordings with Oliver on April 5, 1923; that day, he earned his first recorded solo on "Chimes Blues.". [96][120], Prior to Armstrong, most collective ensemble playing in jazz, along with its occasional solos, simply varied the melodies of the songs. Louis Armstrong - Wikipedia [96], After a competition at the Savoy, he was crowned and nicknamed "King Menelik", after the Emperor of Ethiopia, for slaying "ofay jazz demons". These views changed in 1957, when Armstrong saw the Little Rock Central High School integration crisis on television. The same applies to his 1952 studio recording of the song "Chloe", where the choir in the background sings "Louie Louie", with Armstrong responding "What was that? He was beloved by an American public that usually offered little access beyond their public celebrity to even the greatest African American performers, and he was able to live a private life of access and privilege afforded to few other African Americans during that era. Their marriage was not a happy one, however, and they divorced in 1942. Perhaps most importantly, the letters also detail Armstrong's fatherly love for Sharon. ", 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.". Lynn Rene Bayley, "More Jazz: 'Louis Armstrong The Early Years". [30], He briefly studied shipping management at the local community college, but was forced to quit after being unable to afford the fees. Armstrong wore a Star of David until the end of his life in memory of this family who had raised him. Louis Armstrong was born in a poor section of New Orleans known as "the Battlefield" on August 4, 1901. Hines and Armstrong became fast friends and successful collaborators. At Queens' new Louis Armstrong Center, an archive comes home - NPR 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. He sponsored a local baseball team known as Armstrong's Secret Nine and had a cigar named after him. That's the secret. He rarely publicly discussed racial issues, to the dismay of fellow African Americans, but took a well-publicized stand for desegregation in the Little Rock crisis. Not long after that fiasco, Parker traveled to Armstrong's home on Perdido Street. ", which gave the 63-year-old performer a U.S. record as the oldest artist to have a number one song. flymsy - Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport 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 Hot Five and Hot Seven were strictly recording groups; Armstrong performed nightly during this period with Erskine Tate's orchestra at the Vendome Theater, often playing music for silent movies. In 1968, Armstrong scored one last popular hit in the UK with "What a Wonderful World", which topped the British charts for a month. Not a wonderful world: Louis Armstrong tapes reveal how racism scarred His 1964 song "Bout Time" was later featured in the film Bewitched. [90] His marriage to her lasted four years; they divorced in 1942. The sessions featured the backing musicianship of the Oscar Peterson Trio with drummer Buddy Rich on the first album and Louie Bellson on the second. I would say that the genius of this nation at its best is indeed Walt Whitman and Louis Armstrong".[151]. 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. When Armstrong returned to Chicago in 1935, he had no band, no engagements and no recording contract. Armstrong had considerable success with vocal recordings, including versions of songs composed by his old friend Hoagy Carmichael. When it was released, the disc was a worldwide success and the song was then performed by the greatest international singers. Still hoping to get back on the road, Armstrong died of a heart attack in his sleep on July 6, 1971. 10 East 40th Street - Suite 2710 [109] His laxative use began as a child when his mother would collect dandelions and peppergrass around the railroad tracks to give to her children for their health. 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.". Over a twelve-month period starting in November 1925, this quintet produced twenty-four records. won for best male pop vocal performance at the 1964 Grammy Awards. Armstrong decided to take some time off soon after the incident, and spent much of 1934 relaxing in Europe and resting his lip. He lived in this household with two stepbrothers for several months. 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. This definitive documentary, directed by Sacha Jenkins, honors Armstrong's legacy as a founding father of . He was then sent to the Colored Waif's Home for Boys. As a virtuoso trumpet player, Armstrong had a unique tone and an extraordinary talent for melodic improvisation. Armstrong denounced both Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, saying the President had "no guts" and was "two-faced." [96], The trumpet is notoriously hard on the lips, and Armstrong suffered from lip damage over most of his life. "[24], Borrowing his stepfather's gun without permission, he fired a blank into the air and was arrested on December 31, 1912. His act included singing and telling tales of New Orleans characters, especially preachers. This article is spelling it with two "f"s based on Bergreen (1998). The Observer Louis Armstrong Not a wonderful world: Louis Armstrong tapes reveal how racism scarred his life and career Audio diaries including previously unheard material tell of the jazz. In 1936, he became the first African American jazz musician to write an autobiography: Swing That Music. [110], Armstrong was a heavy marijuana smoker for much of his life and spent nine days in jail in 1930 after being arrested outside a club for drug possession. [29] Around the age of fifteen, he pimped for a prostitute named Nootsy, but that relationship failed after she stabbed Armstrong in the shoulder and his mother choked her nearly to death. On various live records he is called "Louie" on stage, such as on the 1952 "Can Anyone Explain?" Armstrong was performing at the Brick House in Gretna, Louisiana, when he met Daisy Parker, a local prostitute, and started an affair as a client. He was a masterful accompanist and ensemble player in addition to his extraordinary skills as a soloist. Although subject to the vicissitudes of Tin Pan Alley and the gangster-ridden music business, as well as anti-black prejudice, he continued to develop his playing. In 1969, while recovering from heart and kidney problems at Beth Israel Hospital in New York City, Armstrong wrote Louis Armstrong + the Jewish Family in New Orleans, LA., the year of 1907, a memoir describing his time working for the Karnofsky family. 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! Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) is the gateway to one of the most exciting cities in the world - New Orleans, legendary for its history, food and good times. Many younger black musicians criticized Armstrong for playing in front of segregated audiences and for not taking a stronger stand in the American civil rights movement. He scooped the coins off the street and stuck them into his mouth to prevent bigger children from stealing them. The Hot Five included Kid Ory (trombone), Johnny Dodds (clarinet), Johnny St. Cyr (banjo), Lil Armstrong on piano, and usually no drummer. His career spanned five decades and several eras in the history of jazz. They endured several hours on the train to remote Richmond, Indiana, and the band was paid little. Appeared in more than thirty films (over twenty were full-length features) as a gifted actor with superb comic timing and an unabashed joy of life. 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. His agent Johnny Collins's erratic behavior and his own spending ways left Armstrong short of cash. Fearn, who was at the session, kept telling him to continue. [149], The house where Armstrong lived for almost 28 years was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977 and is now a museum. Heart and kidney problems forced him to stop performing in 1969. Special thanks to the Louis Armstrong House Museum for their invaluable help and resources. Duke Ellington, DownBeat magazine in 1971, said, "If anybody was a master, it was Louis Armstrong. Armstrong then married Alpha Smith. On his 1964 record "Hello, Dolly", he sings, "This is Lewis, Dolly" but in 1933 he made a record called "Laughin' Louie". Du Bois and Booker T. Washingtons Clash, Whitney Houston and Bobby Browns Relationship, Whitney Houstons Friendship with Robyn Crawford, Beyonc's Renaissance Tour Merch is on Amazon, Opal Lee: The Grandmother of Juneteenth, Lupita Nyong'o Just Wore Brad Pitt's Skincare Line. By 1968, he was approaching 70 and his health was failing. He performed a duet of "When the Saints Go Marching In" with Danny Kaye during which Kaye impersonated Armstrong. Louis Armstrong "What A Wonderful World" official music video. Elliot Hurwitt et al., in Cary D. Wintz and Paul Finkelman, eds., Satchmo.net. [147], Congo Square was a common gathering place for African-Americans in New Orleans for dancing and performing music. A widespread revival of interest in the 1940s in the traditional jazz of the 1920s made it possible for Armstrong to consider a return to the small-group musical style of his youth. From 1925 to 1928, Armstrong made more than 60 records with the Hot Five and, later, the Hot Seven. He enjoyed listening to his own recordings, and comparing his performances musically. [32], Early in his career, Armstrong played in brass bands and riverboats in New Orleans, first on an excursion boat in September 1918. 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. Regardless, the Karnoffskys treated Armstrong extremely well. The solo that Armstrong plays during the song "Potato Head Blues" has long been considered his best solo of that series. )[6][7][8] His parents were Mary Estelle "Mayann" Albert and William Armstrong. The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky are also on the faces of people going by. This was due to his aggressive style of playing and preference for narrow mouthpieces that would stay in place more easily, but which tended to dig into the soft flesh of his inner lip. (1969). Together, Armstrong and Hines formed a potent team and made some of the greatest recordings in jazz history in 1928, including their virtuoso duet, "Weather Bird," and "West End Blues.". [105], When asked about his religion, Armstrong answered that he was raised a Baptist, always wore a Star of David, and was friends with the pope. [5] Around 1922, he followed his mentor, Joe "King" Oliver, to Chicago to play in the Creole Jazz Band[fr]. At the same time, however, his oeuvre includes many original melodies, creative leaps, and relaxed or driving rhythms. By the 1950s, he was an official spokesman for Ansatz-Creme Lip Salve. Less than a year and a half later, they had a daughter, Beatrice "Mama Lucy" Armstrong (19031987), who was raised by Albert. Though his popularity was hitting new highs in the 1950s, and despite breaking down so many barriers for his race and being a hero to the African American community for so many years, Armstrong began losing his standing with two segments of his audience: Modern jazz fans and young African Americans. During this time, Armstrong lived with his mother and sister and worked for the Karnoffskys,[14] a family of Lithuanian Jews, at their home. Was the only Black Jazz musician to publicly speak out against school segregation in 1957. A local Jewish family, the Karnofskys, gave young Armstrong a job collecting junk and delivering coal. This opened a rich field for creation and improvisation, and significantly changed the music into a soloist's art form. He appears throughout the film, sings the title song, and performs the duet "Now You Has Jazz" with Crosby. Armstrong's manager, Joe Glaser, changed the Armstrong big band on August 13, 1947 into a six-piece traditional jazz group featuring Armstrong with (initially) Teagarden, Earl Hines and other top swing and Dixieland musicians, most of whom were previously leaders of big bands. The quality of the performances was affected by lack of rehearsal, crude recording equipment, bad acoustics, and a cramped studio. [96] The most common tale that biographers tell is the story of Armstrong as a young boy in New Orleans dancing for pennies. Historic House Tour + Here to Stay Adults Seniors Students [111], The concern with his health and weight was balanced by his love of food, reflected in such songs as "Cheesecake", "Cornet Chop Suey",[112] and "Struttin' with Some Barbecue", though the latter was written about a fine-looking companion, and not food. In 1918, he married Daisy Parker, a prostitute, commencing a stormy union marked by many arguments and acts of violence. For a time he was a member of the Lil Hardin Armstrong Band and working for his wife. He made a cameo appearance as a vocalist, regularly stealing the show with his rendition of "Ain't Misbehavin'". Armstrong's popularity continued to grow in Chicago throughout the decade, as he began playing other venues, including the Sunset Caf and the Savoy Ballroom. Although the story was thought to be apocryphal, Armstrong himself confirmed it in at least one interview as well as in his memoirs. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. Louis Armstrong's early career. [96] Armstrong's laxative of preference in his younger days was Pluto Water, but when he discovered the herbal remedy Swiss Kriss, he became an enthusiastic convert,[96] extolling its virtues to anyone who would listen and passing out packets to everyone he encountered, including members of the British Royal Family. [31] While selling coal in Storyville, he heard spasm bands, groups that played music out of household objects. The band drew the Hollywood crowd, which could still afford a lavish night life, while radio broadcasts from the club connected with younger audiences at home. [116], Louis Armstrong was not, as claimed, a Freemason. DOWNLOAD BIOGRAPHY'S LOUIS ARMSTRONG FACT CARD, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Louis Armstrong, Birth Year: 1901, Birth date: August 4, 1901, Birth State: Louisiana, Birth City: New Orleans, Birth Country: United States, 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., Astrological Sign: Leo. It was during Hall's tenure at the venue that she experimented, developed and expanded her scat singing with Armstrong's guidance and encouragement. By the 1950s, he was a national musical icon, appearing regularly in radio and television broadcasts and on film. However, a growing generation gap became apparent between him and the young jazz musicians who emerged in the postwar era such as Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and Sonny Rollins. His participation in Dave Brubeck's high-concept jazz musical The Real Ambassadors (1963) was critically acclaimed and features "Summer Song", one of Armstrong's most popular vocal efforts. [20] Just like the musicians, Hughes wrote his words with jazz. [99], The nicknames "Satchmo" and "Satch" are short for "Satchelmouth". As his reputation grew, he was challenged to cutting contests by other musicians. from the live album In Scandinavia vol.1. In the 1959 film The Five Pennies, Armstrong played himself, sang, and played several classic numbers. He earned a reputation at "cutting contests", and his fame reached band leader Fletcher Henderson. It was used as the title of a 2010 biography of Armstrong by Terry Teachout. After they married in 1924, Hardin made it clear that she felt Oliver was holding Armstrong back. Because Armstrong's playing was so loud, when he played next to Oliver, Oliver could not be heard on the recording. [34], Throughout his riverboat experience, Armstrong's musicianship began to mature and expand. He avidly typed or wrote on whatever stationery was at hand, recording instant takes on music, sex, food, childhood memories, his heavy "medicinal" marijuana use, and even his bowel movements, which he gleefully described. Through his playing, the trumpet emerged as a solo instrument in jazz and is used widely today. Armstrong recorded two albums with Ella Fitzgerald, Ella and Louis and Ella and Louis Again, for Verve Records. Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues - Apple TV+ Press By the 1950s, Armstrong was a widely beloved American icon and cultural ambassador who commanded an international fanbase. 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"). That same year, his longtime manager, Joe Glaser, passed away. Some of his solos from the 1950s, such as the hard rocking version of "St. Louis Blues" from the WC Handy album, show that the influence went in both directions.[96]. Handy (1954) and Satch Plays Fats (all Fats Waller tunes) (1955), were both being considered masterpieces, as well as moderately well selling. She pushed her husband to cut ties with his mentor and join Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra, the top African American dance band in New York City at the time. [22] Armstrong joined a quartet of boys who sang in the streets for money. His best known songs include "What a Wonderful World", "La Vie en Rose", "Hello, Dolly! [91], Armstrong's marriages produced no offspring. The boy's mother, Armstrong's cousin, had died in childbirth. I think to myself, what a wonderful world. Armstrong did state in his autobiography that he was a member of the Knights of Pythias, which although real, is not a Masonic group. Louis Armstrong - What A Wonderful World (Official Video) This smaller group was called Louis Armstrong and His All Stars and included at various times Earl "Fatha" Hines, Barney Bigard, Edmond Hall, Jack Teagarden, Trummy Young, Arvell Shaw, Billy Kyle, Marty Napoleon, Big Sid "Buddy" Catlett, Cozy Cole, Tyree Glenn, Barrett Deems, Mort Herbert, Joe Darensbourg, Eddie Shu, Joe Muranyi and percussionist Danny Barcelona. 1 slot in May 1964, and knocking the Beatles off the top at the height of Beatlemania. [96], Often, Armstrong re-composed pop-tunes he played, simply with variations that made them more compelling to jazz listeners of the era. His 1930s recordings took full advantage of the RCA ribbon microphone, introduced in 1931, which imparted warmth to vocals and became an intrinsic part of the 'crooning' sound of artists like Bing Crosby. In 2002, the Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings (19251928) were preserved in the United States National Recording Registry, a registry of recordings selected yearly by the National Recording Preservation Board for preservation in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress.
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