These views changed in 1957, when Armstrong saw the Little Rock Central High School integration crisis on television. Armstrong accepted, and he was soon taking Chicago by storm with both his remarkably fiery playing and the dazzling two-cornet breaks that he shared with Oliver. It's also worth noting that even though he brought it into popularity, Armstrong in no way invented the technique, which dates back to at least 1906. (Hakim, 58) Although Jazz was very popular itself, a majority of the fans and listeners were younger people. He was arrested for firing a pistol in These records later went on to become the most influential in jazz history, as it was the first time Armstrong facilitated the evolution of jazz as a ensemble to a soloist art. Why Is Louis Armstrong Important. In the 1980s and '90s, younger African American jazz musicians like Wynton Marsalis, Jon Faddis and Nicholas Payton began speaking about Armstrong's importance, both as a musician and a human being. Satchmo didn't let the criticism stop him, however, and he returned an even bigger star when he began a longer tour throughout Europe in 1933. Featuring young geniuses such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Miles Davis, the younger generation of musicians saw themselves as artists, not as entertainers. With her encouragement, he left Oliver and joined Fletcher Henderson's band in New York, staying for a year and then going back to Chicago in November 1925 to join the Dreamland Syncopators, his wife's group. Mozart, in his own traditional ways, the right away he did the first three of his 22 performances at that opera. This newfound popularity introduced Armstrong to a new, younger audience, and he continued making both successful records and concert appearances for the rest of the decade, even cracking the "Iron Curtain" with a tour of Communist countries such as East Berlin and Czechoslovakia in 1965. It is said that during a session, Armstrong dropped his sheet music and started mimicking the sounds of the horn with his voice. 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. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. After completing the optimistic anthem, songwriters Bob Thiele and George David Weiss thought that Tony Bennett would eat it right up. He also learned to sing. 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 passion for his music made him become famous because he was following his dreams while finding his, How Is Louis Daniel Armstrong Morally Responsible, Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 - July 6, 1971) grew up in a poor neighborhood nicknamed The Battlefield in New Orleans, Louisiana. Armstrong felt that being subservient to white people, was an unfortunately necessary evil in order for him to live successfully and happily. He was taken under the wing of cornetist Joe "King" Oliver, and when Oliver moved to Chicago in June 1918, Armstrong replaced him in the Kid Ory Band. Born, August 4, 1901 he started off in a harder life than most people usually do. His crucial contribution to American and world culture continues to reverberate into the 21 st century. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Eldridge is the obvious link between Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie. Armstrong was arrested at eleven years old for disturbing the peace. How did Louis Armstrong influence others? As a trumpet virtuoso, his playing, beginning with the 1920s studio recordings he made with his Hot Five and Hot Seven ensembles, charted a future for jazz in highly imaginative, emotionally charged improvisation. Because of his long improvised solos, he inspired jazz so that long solos became an important part of jazz pieces and performances. 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). He was by far the most enduringly popular man of all the classical composers, and his influence on following Western art music was very good and intense., Intro In 1936, he became the first African American jazz musician to write an autobiography: Swing That Music. He 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.. The memory of things gone is important to a jazz musician. The jazz magazine Down Beat agreed. The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky are also on the faces of people going by. They also encouraged him to sing and often invited him into their home for meals. Clarence, who had become mentally disabled from a head injury he had suffered at an early age, was taken care of by Armstrong his entire life. 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. He also played as a second trumpet for King Oliver. The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night. You might be able to buy a little better booze than the wino on the corner. Why is Louis Armstrong important in the 20's? He was a master of the trumpet and a skilled improviser, and his style of playing influenced many other jazz musicians. The movie he appeared in was Pennies from Heaven (1936). To many young jazz listeners at the time, Armstrong's ever-smiling demeanor seemed like it was from a bygone era, and the trumpeter's refusal to comment on politics for many years only furthered perceptions that he was out of touch. (Armstrong did not function as a bandleader in the usual sense, but instead typically lent his name to established groups.) Being in many bands before he was not new to this. During his time there, he learned how to play the bugle cornet, an instrument that is similar to the trumpet. What a Wonderful World struck a chord with moviegoers and was re-released that year, becoming an oft-requested radio hit. While performing with Tate in 1926, Armstrong finally switched from the cornet to the trumpet. ", During the mid-'50s, Armstrong's popularity overseas skyrocketed. According to Armstrong, that nights biggest laugh came right before his group started playing You Rascal, You. Without warning, he looked straight up at the monarch and hollered, This ones for you, Rex!, Fresh off the wild success of his Hello, Dolly! cover, Armstrong made a trip to communist East Berlin in 1965, where he gave a two-hour concert that earned a standing ovation. Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus sent in the National Guard to prevent the Little Rock Nine nine African American students from entering the public school. "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. The year is 1954. 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. One of the greatest cornet players in town, Joe "King" Oliver, began acting as a mentor to the young Armstrong, showing him pointers on the horn and occasionally using him as a sub. Show More. The man was Louis Armstrong. (Cayton, 462) Armstrong was the king of jazz trumpet players. William Armstrong, his father, was a factory worker who abandoned the family soon after the boy's birth. Study now. One of the most important figures in 20th century music, Armstrong's innovations as a trumpeter and vocalist are widely recognized today, and will continue to be for decades to come. Study now. In 1938, Armstrong finally divorced Lil Hardin and married Alpha Smith, whom he had been dating for more than a decade. All music is folk music. There are two kinds of music, the good and the bad. 1 slot in May 1964, and knocking the Beatles off the top at the height of Beatlemania. In fifth grade, while being taken care of by his maternal grandmother most of the time, he left school to work. 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. 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. What made jazz continuously popular was the way it progressed. When Armstrong saw this as well as white protesters hurling invective at the students he blew his top to the press, telling a reporter that President Dwight D. Eisenhower had "no guts" for letting Faubus run the country, and stating, "The way they are treating my people in the South, the government can go to hell.". 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. Armstrong began to sing on the records, creating a new form of singing, scat singing. Why was Louis Armstrong so important? There, under the tutelage of Peter Davis, he learned how to properly play the cornet, eventually becoming the leader of the Waifs Home Brass Band. He was then sent to the Colored Waif's Home for Boys. WebLouis Armstrong. After trying it, he said that defecation sounded like Applause. Enamored, the musician began handing out packets to admirers, loved ones, and band members. A year later, he was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Armstrong made his first trip abroad, to Europe, and received the nickname Satchmo from his original nickname Satchelmouth, because of his big lips. We contributed Louis Armstrong. Pops had a special place in his heart for both Chinese and Italian food. Instead he used his talent as a ticket to improve his lot and create a meaningful life. Finding Yourself, Dropping, Halfway. He adds, "He was also more than a jazz musician he was an enormously popular entertainer"(pp. He attended school until he was in the 5th grade, he stopped going to help support his family. Dancers loved Hendersons music making Louis Armstrong a celebrity so when he left his old band, this would be a step up. Louis Armstrong was the first black man in the U.S. to host a radio show. 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. That's the secret. Armstrong could make an audience cheer, but Roy Eldridge, made those top and bottom notes feel like a natural part of what the horn should do (Friedwald 21). Armstrong spent much of that year at home, but managed to continue practicing the trumpet daily. Hes a professional jazz performer who played with Oliver and Henderson. Shortly thereafter, Armstrong bragged about the child to his manager, Joe Glaser, in a letter that would later be published in the book Louis Armstrong In His Own Words (1999). The book was titled Swing That Music. He returned to Chicago in the spring of 1932 to front a band led by Zilner Randolph; the group toured around the country. 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. He returned to Broadway in the short-lived musical Swingin' the Dream in November 1939. Louis was born in New Orleans where he grew up and learned to play the trumpet. The tune did, however, become a No. Armstrong was a busy man, he always had more than one thing going on, if he wasnt recording with Hot Five/Seven, he was performing in the Vendome theatre, playing music for silent movies.. An early job working for the Jewish Karnofsky family allowed Armstrong to make enough money to purchase his first cornet. If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know. He first came to prominence in the 1920s as a trumpeter and cornet player with no technique as well as being very skilled in scat singing, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, influencing many later jazz artists as well as shifting the focus of the music from collective improvisation to solo performance.With his very well-known and recognizable gravelly voice, a technique that was later named crooning, Armstrong was an incredibly influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser by bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes on demand. 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. 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. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. The song for which Pops is most widely remembered, What a Wonderful World, was almost never his song at all. 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). Sources: Here are 10 facts about the life of one of the 20th century's most important jazz musicians. There were many jazz musicians. WebDid You Know? In 1947, the waning popularity of the big bands forced Armstrong to begin fronting a small group, Louis Armstrong and His All Stars. Armstrong completed his contract with Decca in 1954, after which his manager made the unusual decision not to sign him to another exclusive contract but instead have him freelance for different labels. In addition Armstrong was also an influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser, bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes., On the 26th day of December in 1788 there was a very great success. If Armstrong never bought the cornet he would have never become famous. To grasp how much the man adored this entre, consider that he often signed his personal letters with Red Beans and Ricely Yours.. However, conditions changed when he was requested to record the title number of a broadway show that went on to become a hit. 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. His greatest inspiration was Joe King Oliver. Armstrong played the trumpet so powerfully that he often split his lip. This gift, coupled with Louis Armstrongs already present affinity for the musical sounds of the local New Orleans street bands and brass players that lingered around, helped to brew the perfect storm that would create one of the most prolific players of the 20th century. This essay will have an introduction of the king of jazz music -- Louis Armstrong and his great influence on jazz history. In fact, before marrying his fourth wife, he made sure that she could cook a satisfactory plateful. Losing weight proved difficult at first, but his luck changed once he learned of an herbal laxative called Swiss Kriss. The artist promptly went out, bought a box, and became a lifelong spokesman. Louis was the illegitimate son of William Armstrong and Mary Est Mayann Albert. Armstrongs mentor, King Oliver, had Armstrong move to Chicago to be in his band; in Olivers, Aside from the typical cultural, social, and political factors influencing any musicians style, an early life filled with poverty and hardship also shaped Louis Armstrongs musical development. Louis Armstrongs significance and most famous songs In 1936, he became the first African American jazz musician to write an autobiography. He didn't own an instrument at this time, If one was to go out into the street, walked up to a random stranger and asked them if they knew who Louis Armstrong was, chances are that they would be able to answer you correctly. Career highlights, compiled by the Louis Armstrong House Museum: Handy and Satch Plays Fats. We all do 'do re mi,' but you have got to find the other notes yourself. In 1967, Armstrong recorded a new ballad, "What a Wonderful World." Despite failing to make a new record for two years, Armstrong remained a fan favorite. Their marriage was not a happy one, however, and they divorced in 1942. Released from the Waifs Home in 1914, Armstrong set his sights on becoming a professional musician. Armstrong spent the last decade of his life similarly that he had spent the four past enthralling groups of onlookers all through the world., Louis Blues, Overall Armstrong wrote and performed some of the most popular and well known jazz songs of all time. Duke Ellingtons sense of musical drama was the one that made him stand out from all of the rest., Armstrong became the best jazz soloist on Broadway (Louis Armstrong 1). Like almost all early Jazz musicians, Louis was from New Orleans. https://www.britannica.com/facts/Louis-Armstrong, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (1990), jazz: The cornetist breaks away: Louis Armstrong and the invention of swing. His distinctive sound and style have had a lasting impact on the genre, and he was a major influence on subsequent generations of jazz musicians. Why was Louis Armstrong important to the Harlem Renaissance? Midway through the recording session, he accidentally dropped them and scatted to fill the ensuing silence. But Armstrong also became an enduring figure in popular music due to his distinctively phrased baritone singing and engaging personality, which were on display in a series of vocal recordings and film roles. 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. WebWhy Is Louis Armstrong Important. He wrote songs such as The Pearls, Millenburg Joys, Mr. Louis Armstrong was an outstanding jazz musician during the Harlem Renaissance Era. 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. Eldridge is the obvious link between Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie. He is also the first African American celebrity to appear in a major Hollywood movie. For this, he is revered by jazz fans. The bottom line of any country in the world is what did we contribute to the world? Armstrong fronted the Luis Russell Orchestra for a tour of the South in February 1930, and in May went to Los Angeles, where he led a band at Sebastian's Cotton Club for the next ten months. In December of that year, he was called into the studio to record the title number for a Broadway show that hadn't opened yet: Hello, Dolly! He also began appearing in the orchestra of Hot Chocolates, a Broadway revue, and was given a featured spot singing "Ain't Misbehavin'." He was born into poverty on August 4, 1901 in the streets of Back o Town (Meckna). He was employed by a Jewish family who encouraged him to sing. He influenced countless other musicians and helped to shape the course of jazz. He is remembered as the most influential artist in the early development of jazz. She pushed her husband to cut ties with his mentor and join Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra, the top African American dance band in New York City at the time. 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. Armstrong continued to appear in major films with the likes of Mae West, Martha Raye and Dick Powell. WebThrough the internet and books we find out why Louis Armstrong is such a great person to learn about. He was an extraordinary musician and he impacted jazz music immensely. WebWhy Is Louis Armstrong Important. (Biography.com), Many people knew Louis Armstrong as the first real genius of jazz(Shipton 26). Armstrong was featured nightly on Ain't Misbehavin', breaking up the crowds of (mostly white) theatergoers nightly. Armstrong had access to guns and decided to borrow a .38 that one of his stepfathers stored in a trunk in the Armstrong home (67). Ironically, Armstrong later wrote the whole thing off as a big blunder on his part. By 1932, Armstrong, who was now known as Satchmo, had begun appearing in movies and made his first tour of England. Louis Armstrong is one of the first great soloists in the 1920s musicians. Louis Armstrong was the greatest of all Jazz musicians. WebLouis Armstrongs ability to use his career to change the music and jazz industry forever is another great example of why Louis Armstrong exhibits the right. Music historians recognize this as the first popular, mass-market scat ever recorded. Though he was the product's biggest cheerleader, Armstrong neither requested nor received any payment from its manufacturers. I ain't never heard a horse sing a song. Its popularity brought many people together, even through the years of racial discrimination and the Great Depression. ", Armstrong's fully healed lip made its presence felt on some of the finest recordings of career, including "Swing That Music," "Jubilee" and "Struttin' with Some Barbecue.". He was also a gifted singer, and his He would attend parades, funerals, churches and go to cheap cabarets to be able to hear some of the greats play, Little Louis sung in a vocal quartet in his early teens. WebLouis Armstrong was a key asset to the Harlem Renaissance due to his inspiring music and playing his instruments for African Americans people during this period. One of the first many New Orleans style jazz artists is Jelly Roll Morton. Different from most of his recordings of the era, the song features no trumpet and places Armstrong's gravelly voice in the middle of a bed of strings and angelic voices. Armstrong and Oliver became the talk of the town with their intricate two-cornet breaks and started making records together in 1923. The lights dim, and the velvet curtains slide open. Armstrong's words made front-page news around the world. 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. The letters, dated as far back as 1968, prove that Armstrong had indeed always believed Sharon to be his daughter, and that he even paid for her education and home, among several other things, throughout his life. Born in 1901 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Armstrong had a difficult childhood. Seems to me it ain't the world that's so bad but what we're doing to it, and all I'm saying is: see what a wonderful world it would be if only we'd give it a chance. No ones quite sure why Armstrong lied about his age, but the most popular theories maintain he wanted to join a military band or that he figured he'd have a better shot at landing gigs if he was over 18 years old. (1964), the latter knocking the Beatles off the top of the pop charts at the height of Beatlemania. Louis Armstrong was the most important and influential musician in jazz history. They were always kind to me, Armstrong once reflected, [I] was just a little kid who could use a little word of kindness. Apart from monetary compensation, Armstrong was given a hot meal every evening and regular invitations to Karnofsky Shabbat dinners. Changing jazz into what was once known as a ensemble music to soloist art. He performed all over the world in the 1950s and '60s, including throughout Europe, Africa and Asia. Armstrong sang his heart out on the number, thinking of his home in Queens as he did so, but "What a Wonderful World" received little promotion in the United States. WebBy the '50s, Armstrong was an established international celebrity--an icon to musicians and lovers of jazz--and a genial, infectiously optimistic presence wherever he appeared. To earn money, Armstrong sang on street corners, sold newspapers, and delivered coal. 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. His fame rose when he composed several masterworks in the 1940s. Louis Armstrong is one of the most important jazz figures. In 1922, King Oliver sent for Armstrong to join his band in Chicago. Blessed with, Armstrong was born in New Orleans on August 4, 1901. 232) Armstrong unlike other black jazz men and women, was one of the first to be welcomed in the upper echelons of white society. His Top Ten version of "Hobo, You Can't Ride This Train," in the charts in early 1933, was on Victor Records; when he returned to the U.S. in 1935, he signed to the recently formed Decca Records and quickly scored a double-sided Top Ten hit, "I'm in the Mood for Love"/"You Are My Lucky Star.". Since New Orleans style jazz known to man, it was one of the broadest genres of jazz. A few weeks later after his birth his father leaves his mother alone with a family. He was abandoned by his father, a boiler stoker, shortly after his birth and was raised by his paternal grandmother. Armstrong continued touring the world and making records with songs like Blueberry Hill (1949), Mack the Knife (1955) and Hello, Dolly! Armstrongs unique singing and masterful improvisation transitioned jazz from the traditional style to a newer, more rhythmic style. Louis Armstrong was a jazz trumpeter, bandleader and singer known for songs like "What a Wonderful World, Hello, Dolly, Star Dust and "La Vie En Rose..