Louis Armstrong and His Music

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Louis Armstrong and His Music
“The essence of jazz- making something new out of something old, making something personal out of something shared- has no finer exemplar than Armstrong.” (Hasse par. 3) During the 1920’s a young African American man, otherwise known as Louis Armstrong, helped create and represent a new twist on popular music. This music that became so famous and well loved today is also referred to as jazz. Louis Armstrong had a very successful jazz career performing and composing popular jazz hits in the 1920’s.
Louis Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901 in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. He not only grew up in poverty but also in the area nicknamed “The Battlefield.” (“Louis Armstrong” Britannica par. 1) When Armstrong was still a young boy his father left the family and his mother often turned to prostitution to pay the bills. (“Louis Armstrong” par. 1-2) He grew up in poverty so he supported his family by singing on corners, selling coal, and cleaning graves for tips. (“Louis Armstrong” par. 1) After leaving school in fifth grade, Armstrong got himself in trouble at a New Year’s Eve party. Taking a gun and firing blanks into the air got him a year and a half’s punishment at the Colored Waif’s Home for Boys. (“Louis Armstrong” par. 1) It was there that Armstrong first received proper music lessons and there that he fell in love with the cornet and anything music. (“Louis Armstrong” par. 1) “New Orleans was the most musical city in the United States in the early 1900’s. It boasted opera houses, concert halls, ballrooms, street parades, and street bands.” (Matthews par. 2)
While in New Orleans, Armstrong married Daisy Parker in 1918. During this time, the couple adopted a three year old boy, Clarence, who wa...

... middle of paper ...

...e to his beloved wife Lucille. (“Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation” par. 5)
“Altogether, his immensely compelling swing; his brilliant technique; his sophisticated, daring sense of harmony; his ever-mobile, expressive attack, timbre, and inflections; his gift for creating vital melodies; his dramatic, often complex sense of solo design; his outsized musical energy and genius made these recordings major innovations in jazz.” (“Louis Armstrong” par. 3)
Louis Armstrong had a very successful jazz career performing and composing popular jazz hits in the 1920’s.

Works Cited

“Louis Armstrong.” 2000. Jazz at Lincoln Center. 21 Feb. 2014 . Electronic.
“Louis Armstrong.” 2014. The Biography Channel Website. Feb. 21 2014 Electronic.

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