Louis Armstrong Accomplishments

“All music is folk music. I ain’t never heard a horse sing a song.” Louis Daniel Armstrong, Satchmo, or Pops is considered one of the most influential artist in jazz history. He was trumpeter, pianist, singer, bandleader, soloist, film star, and comedian (Biography.com). Even though he had a rough childhood, he was a very successful musician.

Louis Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901, in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the impoverished part of town, often called “The Battlefield”. He had one sister, Beatrice, who was born in 1903. His father, William Armstrong, was a factory worker and his mother, Mary Albert, resorted to prostitution to provide for the family after his father left. Because of this, Armstrong was often left with

This ended up being an unhappy, violent relationship. He adopted a three year old boy, Clarence, whose mother was Armstrong’s cousin and died at childbirth. Clarence, who became mentally disabled from suffering a head injury the happened at an early age, was taken care of by Armstrong his entire life. During the summer of the early 1920’s, Armstrong played in Mississippi riverboat dance bands. It was at this time that his reputation began to grow, he was able to stop working manual jobs, and sharpened his music reading skills. He also had encounters with other jazz legends, including Bix Beiderbecke and Jack Teagarden. He began focusing full time on his cornet and playing at parties, dances, funeral marches, and local honky tonks, which was a name for small bars that typically host musical acts (Biography.com). In 1922, Oliver asked Armstrong to join him as a second cornet in Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band. This band included Johnny and Baby Dodds, brothers, and pianist Lillian “Lil” Hardin, whom Armstrong later married in 1924. She encouraged him to leave the band to spread his fame. He played for a year in New York City in Fletcher Henderson’s Orchestra. It was here that he created his most important early works, the Armstrong Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings in 1925-28, and in these he became the first great jazz soloist. He continued to make recordings and many things contributed to the major

Trumpeters, trombonists, and saxophonists were inspired by Armstrong’s phrasing, dramatic structure, melody, and virtuosity. He didn’t only influence with his horn playing but with his vocals too. His vocal style influenced singers from Billie Holiday to Bing Crosby. Armstrong played a role in the film New Orleans and also performed in a Dixieland band. In the period of his great popularity, he produced the hit recordings such as “Mack the Knife” and “Hello, Dolly!” and outstanding albums (Britannica.com). In 1932, he had appeared in movies and began his first tour of England. He was loved by musicians, however, he was “too wild” for most critics, who gave him racist reviews of his career. He didn’t let this stop him though. In 1933, he began a longer tour throughout Europe. During this tour, his career started to take a turn for the worse. Blowing high notes had taken a toll on his lips and he got into a fight with his manager, Johnny Collins, resulting in Collins leaving him in Europe. Armstrong spent much of the next year relaxing in Europe and resting his lip. He returned to Chicago in 1935 with no band and no recording contract. He turned to Joe Glaser for help, who had known him since they met at the Sunset Cafe. Within a few months, Armstrong had a new big band and was recording for Decca Records. In 1936, he became the first African American jazz musician to