Louis Armstrong Biography

The great Louis Armstrong was born on August 4th, 1901 in the city of New Orleans. Armstrong was born into a very poor family, his grandparents being slaves and his mother being a prostitute. He had to work when he was 10 years old to help being income to the family. He sold newspapers, delivered coal, and even sang in a quartet to help get some money. He started to learn how to play the coronet after he was arrested for firing his step dads pistol and put in a military school. Peter Davis was the one that gave him lessons while in the confines of the military school. Soon after Armstrong had been given lesson on the coronet, he was appointed to band leader of the school where he lead the band for about 18 months before being released into his father’s custody. But, his father could not afford to keep Louis in the house so Louis had to move back in with his mother. There, he continued to sell newspapers and deliver coal until he was given a job at the local tavern. He was now getting paid to be a professional musician and perform to pimps and prostitutes every night. That job really kick started Armstrong’s career and put him on path to be the greatest jazz musician of all time.

While performing around the New Orleans area, Armstrong was recognized by some of the great jazz musicians. The most important musician that noticed was Joe “King” Oliver. Oliver would serve as a father figure for Louis and really helped him get his career headed towards the right path. In 1919, Oliver resigned from his position in Kid Orys band and let Armstrong take his position. Armstrong also got to play in the Fate Marble band, which played on a steamboat down the Mississippi river. Armstrong would compare that experience to a normal k...

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...eagarden and created several new hits. They called themselves the “All-stars”. The All-stars included names like Earl Hines and Barney Bigard. In 1963, Louis became the oldest person to have a song at number 1. The song “Hello Dolly” dislodged the Beatles at number 1 and they had been there for 14 weeks.

On July 6th, 1971 Louis Armstrong died of a heart attack. He was 69 years old and is recognized as the best jazz musician ever. He is buried in Flushing Cemetery in Queens New York. Louis is still known today as one of the most influential people to play in the jazz culture and will be remembered for the way he could play the trumpet. The great “Satchmo’s” legacy is positive with everyone who talks about Armstrong. No one will ever be able to play the trumpet quite like Louis and that is why he will always be known as the number one figure in jazz history.