“If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know” - Louis Armstrong
(Louis Armstrong)
Louis Armstrong was born on August 4th, 1901 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He spent his youth in poverty, in a rough neighborhood known as "the Battlefield". His father left the family while he was a child. As a child his mother left him to live with his grandmother. At 5 years old he moved back to live with his mother and her relatives. He brought in some money as a paperboy and also by finding discarded food and selling it to restaurants, but it was not enough to keep his mother from prostitution. He would listen to bands play in clubs and dance halls.
(Armstrong as a young child)
At age 11 Armstrong dropped out of school and joined a quartet of boys who sang in the streets for money. He began to play the trumpet by ear at the same age. He also worked for a Lithuanian immigrant family who treated him like family. Armstrong developed his cornet playing skills by playing in the band of the New Orleans Home for Colored Waifs. Professor Peter Davis instilled discipline in and provided musical training to the otherwise self taught Armstrong. At 13 years old Armstrong became the band leader. At 14 years old he moved in with his father. Armstrong hauled coal by day and played his cornet at night. He played in the city's frequent brass band parades and listened to older musicians every chance he got. In 1919 He became second trumpet for the Tuxedo Brass Band.
(Armstrong in 1919)
At 20 years old he could read music and started to be featured in extended trumpet solos, one of the first jazz men to do this. In 1922 Armstrong joined the exodus to Chicago. Armstrong lived luxuriously in Chicago.
(Armstrong in 1922)
In 1923 Armstrong made his first recordings. In 1924 Armstrong received an invitation to go to New York City to play with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. Armstrong then included singing in his performances. In 1925 he returned to chicago.
(Armstrong in 1925)
He began recording under his own name for Okeh with his famous Hot Five and Hot Seven groups. The group included Kid Ory (trombone), Johnny Dodds (clarinet), Johnny St. Cyr (banjo), and his wife Lil (piano). The most notable of the Hot Five and Seven records were "Cornet Chop Suey", "Struttin' With Some Barbecue", "Hotter Than that" and "Potato Head Blues”. In 1926 Armstrong was 1st to scat sing on record. In 1929 he returned to New York City. Also he played in the pit orchestra of the successful musical “Hot Chocolate”.
(Armstrong in 1929)
In 1930 Armstrong moved to Los Angeles, CA. He played at the New Cotton Club in Los Angeles, CA with Lionel Hampton on drums. In 1931 Armstrong took full advantage of the new RCA ribbon microphone. Armstrong's famous interpretation of Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust" became one of the most successful versions of this song ever recorded. Also in 1931 Armstrong appeared in his first movie, Ex-Flame.
(Armstrong in Ex Flame(1931))
He then moved to Chicago, IL. He also visited New Orleans, LA and had a hero's welcome. He sponsored a local baseball team known as "Armstrong's Secret Nine" and had a cigar named after him. In 1936 he appeared in Pennies from Heaven.
(Armstrong (Right) in Pennies From Heaven (1936))
In 1937, Armstrong substituted for Rudy Vallee on the CBS radio network and became the first African American to host a sponsored national broadcast. In 1943 he moved to Queens, NY. Throughout the 1940’s Armstrong played over 300 gigs a year. In 1947 Armstrong formed the group “Louis Armstrong and his All Stars”.
(Armstrong in 1947)
In 1948, he participated in the Nice Jazz Festival. In 1949 he was the first jazz musician to appear on the cover of “Time” magazine.
(Armstrong on “Time” magazine in 1949)
In 1950 Armstrong recorded the first American version of "C'est si bon”. In the 1960s, he toured Ghana and Nigeria. In 1964 he recorded his biggest selling record, "Hello, Dolly!".
(Armstrong in 1964)
The record went number 1 on the Hot 100 charts making Armstrong, at 62 years, 9 months and 5 days, the oldest person ever to accomplish that feat. In 1968 Armstrong made his last recorded trumpet performance on the album “Disney Songs the Satchmo Way”.
(Armstrong in 1968)
On July 6th, 1971 Louis Armstrong died of a heart attack in New York City, New York, USA. He Was 69 years old.
(Armstrong’s funeral)
Today is his 116th birthday and we would all like to say happy birthday and rest in peace Louis Armstrong.
Albums by Louis Armstrong
“Satchmo at Symphony Hall” (1951)
“Satchmo at Pasadena” (1951)
“Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy” (1954)
“Louis Armstrong and the Mills Brothers, Volume One” (1954)
“Satch Plays Fats: A Tribute to the Immortal Fats Waller” (1955)
“Louis Armstrong at the Crescendo, Vol. 1” (1955)
“Louis Armstrong and Eddie Condon at Newport” (1956)
“Satchmo the Great” (1956)
“An Evening With Louis Armstrong and His All Stars” (1956)
“Ella and Louis” (1956)
“Ella and Louis Again” (1957)
“I've Got the World on a String” (1957)
“Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson” (1957)
“Louis Under the Stars” (1957)
“Louis and the Angels” (1957)
“Porgy & Bess” (1958)
“Louis and the Good Book” (1958)
“Satchmo In Style” (1959)
“The Five Pennies” (1959)
“Bing & Satchmo” (1960)
“Recording Together for the First Time” (1961)
“The Great Reunion” (1961)
“The Real Ambassadors” (1962)
“Hello, Dolly!” (1964)
“Disney Songs the Satchmo Way” (1968)
“The One and Only” (1968)
“What a Wonderful World” (1970)
Films Starring Louis Armstrong
Ex Flame (1930) as himself
I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead You Rascal (1932) as himself
A Rhapsody in Black and Blue (1932) as himself
Pennies from Heaven (1936) as Hery
Artists & Models (1937) as Speciality
Every Day’s a Holiday (1937) as himself
Doctor Rhythm (1938) as Trumpet Player
Going Places (1938) as Gabe
Birth of the Blues (1941) as himself
Cabin in the Sky (1943) as The Trumpeter
Jam Session (1944) as himself
Pillow to Post (1945) as Orchestra Leader
New Orleans (1947) as himself
A Song is Born (1948) as himself
I’m in the Revue (1950) as Band Leader
The Strip (1951) as himself
Here Comes the Groom (1951) as himself
Glory Alley (1952) as Shadow Johnson
High Society (1956) as himself
The Five Pennies (1959) as himself
The Beat Generation (1959) as himself
Kærlighedens melodi (1959) as Musician
Paris Blues (1961) as Wild Man Moore
When the Boys Meet the Girls (1965) as himself
A Man Called Adam (1966) as Willie Ferguson
Hello, Dolly! (1969) as Orchestra Leader
Videos of Louis Armstrong
(George Jackson)
(Jackson in 1966)
(Jackson in 1970)
(Jackson in 1971)
(Jackson’s Funeral)
