However, Armstrong's southern background didn't mesh well with the more urban, Northern mentality of Henderson's other musicians, who sometimes gave Armstrong a hard time over his wardrobe and the way he talked. Why was Louis Armstrong always smiling His stop-time solos on numbers like "Cornet Chop Suey" and "Potato Head Blues" changed jazz history, featuring daring rhythmic choices, swinging phrasing and incredible high notes. The man was Louis Armstrong. WebLouis Armstrong was the protege of King Oliver and one of the best loved musicians of the Twenties. Armstrongs unique singing and masterful improvisation transitioned jazz from the traditional style to a newer, more rhythmic style. The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky are also on the faces of people going by. He worked for to get his instrument because his mother couldn't afford to buy him one. Armstrong's words made front-page news around the world. "What a Wonderful World" peaked on the U.S. music charts after Armstrong passed away. But you get sick just like the next cat and when you die you're just as graveyard dead as he is. WebLouis Armstrong remains an icon of American history and 20 th century popular culture. Pops had a special place in his heart for both Chinese and Italian food. You might be able to buy a little better booze than the wino on the corner. Armstrong played the trumpet so powerfully that he often split his lip. 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. Many great performers have come out of the jazz industry, but the most widely known is Louis Satchmo Armstrong. The most important and influential musician in jazz history, and one of the leading singers and entertainers from the 1920s through the '50s. 1. Armstrong practiced his instrument and eventually he became the jazz great everyone knows today. He was a master of the trumpet and a pioneer of jazz. Personnel changed over the years but this remained Armstrongs main performing vehicle for the rest of his career. But, as a Bayou State native, Armstrongs favorite dish was always rice and beans. He also took a series of small parts in motion pictures, beginning with Pennies from Heaven in December 1936, and he continued to record for Decca, resulting in the Top Ten hits "Public Melody Number One" (August 1937), "When the Saints Go Marching In" (April 1939), and "You Won't Be Satisfied (Until You Break My Heart)" (April 1946), the last a duet with Ella Fitzgerald. By the end of his teens, Armstrong had grown up fast. 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. It started in New Orleans and over the years, stretched out throughout the whole United States. In America, Armstrong had been a great Civil Rights pioneer, breaking down numerous barriers as a young man. ", During the mid-'50s, Armstrong's popularity overseas skyrocketed. 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. Copy. In 1924, Armstrong married Hardin, who urged Armstrong to leave Oliver and try to make it on his own. The material may show why Armstrong was not just a giant of jazz music, but a civil rights leader as well. 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. Their marriage was not a happy one, however, and they divorced in 1942. He was then sent to the Colored Waif's Home for Boys. Nobody did what Louis could do. Mozart had written over 600 pieces of works, many acknowledged his pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral music. In September, his recording of that song entered the charts, becoming a Top Ten hit. 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. 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 The way they are treating my people in the South, declared Armstrong, the government can go to hell.. Eldridge is the obvious link between Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie. WebHe overcame poverty to become one of the most important people in the history of music. As swing and jazz was dominant as the pop music of the early 20th century, his influence is also evident in the transition from swing and jump blues into rock and roll. 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. Louis began playing at a young age when he was growing up in New Orleans. 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. Mentored by the citys top cornetist, Joe King Oliver, Armstrong soon became one of the most in-demand cornetists in town, eventually working steadily on Mississippi riverboats. However, a heart attack two days after the Waldorf gig sidelined him for two months. After a quick trip with a group of people to Venice, Mozart and his daddy returned back to his hometown Salzburg. Louis continued to spread his style by touring other countries. Despite failing to make a new record for two years, Armstrong remained a fan favorite. Eldridge is the obvious link between Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. He performed in Europe for the first time in 1932 and returned in 1933, staying for over a year because of a damaged lip. The jazz magazine Down Beat agreed. ", Louis Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901, in New Orleans, Louisiana, in a neighborhood so poor that it was nicknamed "The Battlefield.". He influenced countless other musicians and helped to shape the course of jazz. 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. 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.". He studied music there and played cornet and bugle in the school band, eventually becoming its leader. Music historians recognize this as the first popular, mass-market scat ever recorded. 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. He sang much as he played, but with a playfulness and a rasp, that would forever be part of American culture (Winfield 167). 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. While he still had to work odd jobs selling newspapers and hauling coal to the city's famed red-light district, Armstrong began earning a reputation as a fine blues player. He found that the only way to reap the benefits of success and be protected was if there was a white captain to back you in the old days (Armstrong). The first recording of What a Wonderful World was produced by ABC Records, which made no attempt to advertise it domestically. Hes a professional jazz performer who played with Oliver and Henderson. "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. His influence, both as an artist and cultural icon, is universal and is still relevant today. By the summer of 1970, Armstrong was allowed to perform publicly again and play the trumpet. 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. If Armstrong never bought the cornet he would have never become famous. In 1938, Armstrong finally divorced Lil Hardin and married Alpha Smith, whom he had been dating for more than a decade. 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. 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). It did not gain as much notice in the U.S. until 1987, when it was used in the film Good Morning, Vietnam, after which it became a Top 40 hit. He returned to Broadway in the short-lived musical Swingin' the Dream in November 1939. St. Louis Cardinals prospect Jordan Walker tracks down a flyball during fielding practice at the Cardinals spring training complex in Jupiter, Fla. on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023. He was released on June 16, 1914, and did manual labor while trying to establish himself as a musician. WebRather than appealing simply to the crowd of already established jazz lovers, Louis Armstrong was effective at bridging the gap and reaching out to those that may not have been as familiar with the genre and effectively serving as one of the best ambassadors that the jazz world has ever known. He returned to performing in 1970 but it was too much, too soon and he passed away in his sleep on July 6, 1971, a few months after his final engagement at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. Louis Armstrong Louis Armstrong, nicknamed "Satchmo," "Pops" and, later, "Ambassador Satch," was a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. His amazing technical abilities, the joy and spontaneity, and amazingly quick, inventive musical mind still dominate Jazz to this day. Show More. Why is Louis Armstrong important to blacks? While performing with Tate in 1926, Armstrong finally switched from the cornet to the trumpet. 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). I ain't never heard a horse sing a song. He performed all over the world in the 1950s and '60s, including throughout Europe, Africa and Asia. Louis Armstrong: History & Major Accomplishments His resurgence in the '60s with hit recordings like 1965's Grammy-winning "Hello Dolly" and 1968's classic "What a Wonderful World" solidified his legacy as a musical and cultural icon. To grasp how much the man adored this entre, consider that he often signed his personal letters with Red Beans and Ricely Yours.. 149 Copy quote. Armstrong was one of the first very popular, Being raised in a part of New Orleans known as "The Battlefield" because of its faulty economic situation is not ideal. The 1930s also found Armstrong achieving great popularity on radio, in films, and with his recordings. 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. 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. Armstrongs improvised solos transformed jazz from an ensemble-based music into a soloists art, while his expressive vocals incorporated innovative bursts of scat singing and an underlying swing feel. Mob bosses from New York City and Chicago threatened Louis Armstrong in attempts to control his management contract. Louis Armstrong: A Cultural Legacy Armstrong continued recording for Decca in the late 1940s and early '50s, creating a string of popular hits, including "Blueberry Hill," "That Lucky Old Sun," "La Vie En Rose," "A Kiss to Build a Dream On" and "I Get Ideas. Why Louis Armstrong If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know. Because of his long improvised solos, he inspired jazz so that long solos became an important part of jazz pieces and performances. Bebop, a new form of jazz, had blossomed in the 1940s. 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. Since his death, Armstrong's stature has only continued to grow. Study now. Beginning in 1919, Armstrong spent his summers playing on riverboats with a band led by Fate Marable. While only a DNA test could officially prove whether a blood relationship does exist between Armstrong and Sharon and one has never been conducted between the two believers and skeptics can at least agree on one thing: Sharon's uncanny resemblance to the jazz legend. When Armstrong returned to Chicago in 1935, he had no band, no engagements and no recording contract. His mother, who often turned to prostitution, frequently left him with his maternal grandmother. He embarked on his first European tour since 1935 in February 1948, and thereafter toured regularly around the world. Why was Louis Armstrong so important? However, had his upbringing been different, his musical talents may never have been established to grow and thrive into one of the most internationally influential jazz musicians ever. Armstrong felt that being subservient to white people, was an unfortunately necessary evil in order for him to live successfully and happily. He took up work in Joe (King) Olivers house, doing chores in exchange for musical lessons, developing into a. Louis Armstrong is a man of many talents and skills known for creating a new environment, especially in his home town of New Orleans. Another one of Armstrongs notable qualities, scat singing (wordless singing/mummering) was also popularized during this. Handy and Satch Plays Fats. Louis Armstrong was the most important and influential musician in jazz history. 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. 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. Only Charlie Parker comes close to having as much influence on the history of Jazz as Louis Armstrong did. Career highlights, compiled by the Louis Armstrong House Museum: 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. Importance of Louis Armstrong That's the secret. He began touring the country in the 1940s. 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. At the mention jazz music, that person will first think of is likely to be a great figure with a clown image, nicknamed Satchmo. 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. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! As if it were not enough that Armstrong would rewire instrumental music for the rest of the century, his singing did the same for vocal music. The first important trend in New York Jazz was Hot Jazz that was an incendiary style introduced by Louis Armstrong (Winfield 170). During his time there, he learned how to play the bugle cornet, an instrument that is similar to the trumpet. A year later, he was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The record was released in 1964 and quickly climbed to the top of the pop music charts, hitting the No. Evidently, the show went well. 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. Armstrong and Oliver became the talk of the town with their intricate two-cornet breaks and started making records together in 1923. 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. In 16967, Armstrong recorded his most renowned tune, What a Wonderful Word that surprisingly featured no trumpet. Louis Armstrong: A Cultural Legacy | National Portrait Gallery 1 slot in May 1964, and knocking the Beatles off the top at the height of Beatlemania. Louis Armstrong Encyclopdia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.