Armstrong, Louis

Louis Daniel Armstrong (1900–1971) was born in the Storyville District of New Orleans on August 4, 1900. Armstrong, who first began playing the cornet as a boy, was a musical sensation by the time he was 22 years old. Armstrong's mastery of the cornet and jazz improvisation brought him professional and artistic acclaim over the course of his career. He toured the world for over five decades, bringing joy to a countless number of people. Both his talent and longevity helped make him one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century.

Armstrong grew up hustling for money on the streets of New Orleans. His mother was a parttime prostitute and his father abandoned the family shortly after Armstrong was born. As a result, Armstrong spent most of his childhood helping his mother earn extra money. Arrested for firing a friend's gun into the air on New Year's Eve, Armstrong spent several months in the Colored Waifs Home in 1913. It was there that Armstrong received his first formal music lessons. He learned to play the cornet over the course of his stay and became an active member in the home's brass band.

[Page 42]Armstrong began hanging around local music clubs following his release in 1914. His favorite act was Joe “King” Oliver, a local musician who played with the Kid Ory Band. Oliver immediately took a liking to the young Armstrong, even offering to buy him his first cornet. It was not long before Armstrong was getting paid to sit in with Oliver and his band.

Oliver and Armstrong moved their act to Chicago in 1922, when they joined forces in Oliver's Creole Jazz Band. The group's brand of New Orleans jazz took the town by storm. By the mid-1920s, Armstrong was a star in his own right and ready to strike out on his own. He left Oliver to form his own band, called Louis Armstrong and the Hot Five, in 1925. Although they never toured, Armstrong and the Hot Five (later the Hot Seven) recorded several albums that went on to become jazz classics. It was during this period that Armstrong recorded the famous “St. Louis Blues” featuring Bessie Smith.

In 1929, Armstrong organized a touring band and set off on a tour that lasted almost 6 years. The band played for audiences all over the United States and Europe, including the King of England in 1932. However, big orchestras began to lose their popularity following World War II, forcing Armstrong to reevaluate his act. Despite his unique frontline formation of a single horn player, Armstrong and his manager, Joe Glaser, still felt the act needed to be updated. They hired a whole new group of musicians in 1947 and named them the Louis Armstrong All-Stars. The smaller band toured endlessly throughout the next two decades. They played all over the United States, Africa, Asia, South America, and Europe.

Armstrong's popularity reached its peak in the 1960s. He was known as America's Goodwill Ambassador and scored several number one hits, including “What a Wonderful World” and “Hello, Dolly.” Armstrong continued to record throughout the last few years of his life. He died in his sleep on July 6, 1971.

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