Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901. Like most jazz musicians from his era, he had his roots in New Orleans, Louisiana. Armstrong is widely regarded as one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time. He was born to 16 year old Mayann Albert and her boyfriend Willie Armstrong. Soon after his birth, Willie left Mayann only to return a few years later, have another child, Beatrice, before leaving once again. When his father left the first time, Louis was placed into the care of his grandmother, Josephine Armstrong. Josephine struggled to keep food on the table by doing laundry for white families. Despite the struggle to survive, Josephine made sure Louis attended both church and school. After four years of living with his grandmother, 6 year old Armstrong returned to live with his mother, who at the time was living in a tougher neighborhood labeled ‘Storyville’ where she worked as a prostitute. By the age of 7, Armstrong was finding work wherever he could to support his family. At 11, Armstrong quit school in order to further support his family. He sold newspapers and vegetables and sang on the streets with a group of other boys to make whatever money he could. After saving enough money, Armstrong bought his first instrument, the coronet Singing with the boys is where he earned his nickname ‘Satchmo’. It was originally ‘Satchelmouth’, referring to his large mouth, but was later shorthanded to simply ‘Satchmo’. Singing with the group of boys brought Armstrong in contact with many local musicians. Probably the most notable was Bunk Johnson, who was regarded as the best trumpeter in the city at the time. Johnson taught Armstrong new techniques when playing and allowed him to sit in during performances. During the ... ... middle of paper ... ...out against racial discrimination during the incident in Little Rock, Arkansas where the Governor of Arkansas refused to desegregate the school. So radio stations even refused to play his songs. Thankfully, tensions defused when President Eisenhower took control of the situation by sending troops to enforce desegregation. While on tour in 1959 in Italy, Armstrong suffered a heart attack. He flew back to America after a week in a hospital. Ignoring warning from physicians, Armstrong returned to his busy and taxing schedule of live performances. Throughout the 1960s, Armstrong continued to perform, despite heart and kidney issues. In the Spring of 1971, he suffered another heart attack and passed away July 6 due to his inability to recover. More than 25,000 mourners visited him and his funeral was nationally televised. He was interred in Flushing Cemetery in Queens.
The band’s return to Chicago was a definite success: they drew bigger crowds than ever before and received excellent reviews. This success motivated King Oliver to invite his young mentee from New Orleans, Louis Armstrong, to join the band.
Jazz as a general genre reached its peak in the thirties. Jazz was incredibly popular with both the Black community, and the white community; however, Jazz reached the adolescents the most. Jazz music was associated with the African American culture during this time of increible racial tension, subsequently the ‘teens’ of this generation began to tune into this genre for its rebelistic qualities. Popular forms of jazz music often included, Dixieland/’hot’ jazz, classical jazz, and bebop. The defining artist of hot jazz was Louis Armstrong. This music was characterized by collective improvised solos, around melodic structure, that ideally built up to an emotional and "Hot" climax. The rhythm section, which typically consists of percussion, bass, banjo, or guitar helps to support this crescendo, many times in the style of a
To conclude my paper I would like to highlight Louis’s life. He was just a poor
“His relaxed phrasing was a major change from the staccato style of the early 20’s and helped to set the stage for the Swing Era” (“Life & Legacy”). And as such a prominent artist, and in particular, jazz artist, Armstrong did not only change the perception of jazz and swing, but the views on African Americans and their culture. Armstrong and the Harlem Renaissance reflected black history and culture, and it became popular, even in white communities and clubs. Jazz as a whole genre helped further society’s views through the universal language of music, where any ethnicity could partake in it. And the revolution of jazz was lead by the stylings of Louis Armstrong. The duration of the jazz and swing era, lasting decades past the 1920s, symbolized the civil rights movement directly through the lyrics, sounds, and artists
His boisterous personality influenced many aspects of American culture, and his contributions and influence on Jazz are immeasurable. Nobody has done more for Jazz than Louis Armstrong, without question he is a Jazz legend (Friedwald). Armstrong excelled at everything he performed. A renaissance man of our time, his appreciation for music and life showed in his performances, and his talent showed his techniques and improvisation. Louis’s technique and improvisation on the trumpet set the standard for Jazz musicians (Friedwald). Fellow trumpeter Dizzie Gillespie credited Armstrong with this honor stating, “If it weren’t for him there wouldn’t be any of us.” This reputation would lend him to be referred to as Jazz royalty. With his trumpet and his scat singing he revolutionized Jazz. Though vocally limited, his understanding of how to use his voice beyond his natural abilities led to his perfection of scat (Edwards). Scatting allowed him to perfect his improvisational skill. Scatting, or scat singing would come to be known as the “House that Satch Built” and Armstrong the “Original Man of Scat.”
The African American students tried to enter the school on several different occasions but each time they were greeted by an angry mob that blocked the entrance to the school. After several weeks President Eisenhower addressed the citizens of the United States and the citizens of Little Rock explaining to them that he had no choice now but to use his executive power in order to uphold the Supreme Court decision allowing African American to attend any school of their choice. He stated, “No one, not even a mob could override the decision of the Supreme
It was said that he thought he was born on July 4, 1900 (Armstrong 7). While Louis was still an infant his father, William Armstrong, abandoned his family. He spent the first years of his life living with his Grandmother since at the time his parents were going through a separation. At age 5, he moved into a home with his mother and sister, Beatrice, whom he called Mama Lucy. He grew up in a rough section of New Orleans. They were incredibly poor and did not have enough money. He would work different jobs just to take care of his family. Louis would work anywhere that he would be able to find work. He would sing on the street, which would result in his nickname, Satchelmouth that would be shorten to Satchmo. His nickname was a result of him having a wide
Armstrong is not only a trumpet player, as a singer, he was also very successful. For many years, jazz lovers tried in ecstasies to imitate his unique voice and scat singing which was nonsense but with a rhythmic. Armstrong was the first to successfully use scat singing, which eventually became a major feature of jazz concert. His singing method affected almost every jazz singer, including Coypin Crosby in 1940s, most charismatic singer in jazz history Billie Holly and Frank Sinatra.
Louis Armstrong was the first great trumpet soloist in jazz. His unmistakable trumpet and vocals allowed him to continue doing what he loved most, making people happy. Armstrong was loved by many people, whether they were white, Africa...
Louis Armstrong was born in August of 1901 to Mary and William Armstrong. Armstrong’s father abandoned the family after Louis’s birth. Then Louis, his mother and sister lived in poverty. His first musical experience came when he sang with a group of boys on the streets in order to earn money. In 1912, Louis fired blanks from a pistol in a New Years Eve celebration and got arrested by a police officer and sent to the Colored Waifs’ Home for Boys. At the Colored Waifs’ Home for Boys, Louis received his first formal training in music from the band director there and soon turned into a leader in the band. When he got released from the home for boys, he supported his family by shoveling coal. (Louis Armstrong)
When it comes to jazz music, there is one name that everyone knows, whether they’ve never listened to jazz before or if they’ve listened to it their whole lives. That name is Louis Armstrong. Armstrong was one of the pioneers of jazz music, from his humble beginnings in one of New Orleans roughest districts, “the Battlefield”, to playing concerts for sold out crowds in Chicago and New York City, Louis left a massive impact on the way America listened to music for a long time. One of his premier tracks, “West End Blues”, left an impact on jazz music, which other musicians would try to emulate for years.
Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke were two of the most popular jazz artists of their times. These two men had the similarity of loving jazz music, however there were also many differences between the two. These two men had different lives growing up, Louis Armstrong grew up in a wealthy family, there was not struggle for him growing up while on the other hand Bix Beiderbecke grew up in a poor family and he had many struggles growing up in the streets of New Orleans. Then there were their musical styles, these men were known for their distinct musical styles. Louis Armstrong seemed to focus on hot jazz while Bix Beiderbecke focused more on a cool, reflective type of jazz. They seem to focus on two different things and this can be the reason
Josephine Baker Josephine Baker was an African American woman who had to overcome discrimination and abuse in achieving her dream of becoming a singer and dancer. She did this during the 1920s, when African Americans faced great discrimination. She had a hard childhood. Her personal life was not easy to handle. Furthermore, she overcame poverty and racism to achieve her career dream.
Louis Armstrong, nicknamed “satchmo” because of his large mouth, which noticeably stood out compared to the most well known figures in early jazz. To many, he is still the creator of modern jazz music. Armstrong was born on July 4, 1900 in New Orleans. He grew up in New orleans with his grandmother, having never met his father
Louis Armstrong was known as the King of jazz, a trumpeter and singer who was one of the most influential figures in jazz music. Famous for his innovative methods of playing the trumpet and cornet, he was also a highly talented singer blessed with a powerful voice. Known for his skills on being able improvise, he would bend and twist the many lyrics and melody of a song with dramatic effect. As his popularity grew in the mid-20th century America when racism was more prevalent, he was one of the first African-American entertainers to be highly popular among both the white and the colored segments of the society. Fondly nicknamed Satchmo or Pops by his fans, he is often regarded to be the founding father of jazz as a uniquely American art form. Born into poverty in New Orleans, he had a very difficult childhood after his father abandoned the family. As a young boy, he