why is louis armstrong important

WebWhy Is Louis Armstrong Important. 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.". Louis Armstrong was the first black man in the U.S. to host a radio show. 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). Louis began playing at a young age when he was growing up in New Orleans. With his daring rhythmic choice, swinging vocabulary, and incredibly high notes; changing jazz history once again. 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. Rock Icon KISS Is Saying Goodbye (For Real), DOWNLOAD BIOGRAPHY'S LOUIS ARMSTRONG FACT CARD, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Louis Armstrong, Birth Year: 1901, Birth date: August 4, 1901, Birth State: Louisiana, Birth City: New Orleans, Birth Country: United States, Best Known For: 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., Astrological Sign: Leo. He was a master of the trumpet and a skilled improviser, and his style of playing influenced many other jazz musicians. Preston gave birth to a daughter, Sharon Preston, in 1955. His mother, Mayann, was 15 years old when he was born and his father, Willie, abandoned them soon after. Its popularity brought many people together, even through the years of racial discrimination and the Great Depression. But many of his recorded performances are masterpieces, and none are less than entertaining. 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. For this, he is revered by jazz fans. Armstrong and Oliver became the talk of the town with their intricate two-cornet breaks and started making records together in 1923. 1 slot in May 1964, and knocking the Beatles off the top at the height of Beatlemania. 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! Together with his mom, they moved to a better area of New Orleans. Jelly Roll Morton was a great pianist and arranger from New Orleans., He not only produce one impressive improvised solo after another, but he also raised the bar for jazz vocals. 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. Louis Daniel (Louie) Armstrong is perhaps the most important and influential person in the history of jazz music, swing music, and jazz vocal styling. Armstrong soon began dating the female pianist in the band, Lillian Hardin. 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. Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans in 1901. The musician didn't let the incident stop him, however, and after taking a few weeks off to recover, he was back on the road, performing 300 nights a year into the 1960s. At the mention jazz music, that person will first think of is likely to be a great figure with a clown image, nicknamed Satchmo. Armstrong was an African American child growing up in the slums of New Orleans, close to abandonment, impoverished, and with too few constant people, resources, or homes. He returned to Chicago in the spring of 1932 to front a band led by Zilner Randolph; the group toured around the country. 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. 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. They also encouraged him to sing and often invited him into their home for meals. There was a cheerful impatience in his playing, an optimistic confidence that led him to risk going over the top (Shipton 157). A few weeks later after his birth his father leaves his mother alone with a family. Armstrong decided to take some time off soon after the incident, and spent much of 1934 relaxing in Europe and resting his lip. Turns out, he was 13 months off. His music had had a major effect on "swing" and the big band sound. The 1930s also found Armstrong achieving great popularity on radio, in films, and with his recordings. His career spanned many decades, from the 1920s to his death in 1971, and many different eras in jazz. The joyous tune perfectly and ironically clashed with the wartime horrors depicted in one montage, so director Barry Levinson added it to his films soundtrack. Eldridge is the obvious link between Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie. After a successful engagement in Las Vegas, Armstrong began taking engagements around the world, including in London and Washington, D.C. and New York (he performed for two weeks at New York's Waldorf-Astoria). 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). Louis was the illegitimate son of William Armstrong and Mary Est Mayann Albert. Armstrong's daring vocal transformations of these songs completely changed the concept of popular singing in American popular music, and had lasting effects on all singers who came after him, including Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. The Armstrongs moved into the home, where they would live for the rest of their lives, in 1943. His rise to the top, though not overnight, occurred quickly, he played with mostly all the major bands in New Orleans over the next few years (Friedwald 350). Armstrong's new manager, Joe Glaser, organized a big band for him that had its premiere in Indianapolis on July 1, 1935; for the next several years, he toured regularly. WebLouis Armstrongas a musician, as a man, as an icon. In 1988, music historian Thaddeus Tad Jones located a baptismal record at New Orleanss Sacred Heart of Jesus Church. He was an all-star virtuoso, and came to prominence in the 1920s playing cornet and trumpet with an excitingly new and improvisational style. (Armstrong did not function as a bandleader in the usual sense, but instead typically lent his name to established groups.) Love, baby - love. His charismatic stage presence impressed not only the jazz world but all of popular music. 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. A year later, he was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. For the first time, Armstrong was really able to demonstrate his unique voice during those recording sessions. A young pianist from Pittsburgh, Earl Hines, assimilated Armstrong's ideas into his piano playing. At His Majestys command, several of the biggest names in jazz took their talents to Buckingham Palace, and in 1932, Armstrong was requested for a royal performance. WebLouis Armstrong was the most important and influential musician in jazz history. Another one of Armstrongs notable qualities, scat singing (wordless singing/mummering) was also popularized during this. He spent the next several years in Europe, his American career maintained by a series of archival recordings, including the Top Ten hits "Sweethearts on Parade" (August 1932; recorded December 1930) and "Body and Soul" (October 1932; recorded October 1930). Wiki User. The year is 1954. His notoriety for being the best jazz player of his time was secured as Armstrong's arrangement of swing and melodic development opened out and changed Henderson's band and in addition jazz overall. Armstrong felt that being subservient to white people, was an unfortunately necessary evil in order for him to live successfully and happily. He performed in Europe for the first time in 1932 and returned in 1933, staying for over a year because of a damaged lip. In 1972, a year after his death, he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In September, his recording of that song entered the charts, becoming a Top Ten hit. Armstrong brought. Some even theorize that it was Armstrongs difficult upbringing that made his music so wise, so unique, and so revolutionary. Read Full Biography. WebThrough the internet and books we find out why Louis Armstrong is such a great person to learn about. What was Louis Armstrongs childhood like? 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). While in New York, Armstrong cut dozens of records as a sideman, creating inspirational jazz with other greats such as Sidney Bechet, and backing numerous blues singers including Bessie Smith. Within a span of three years, Armstrong recorded over sixty records. From 1925 to 1928, Armstrong made more than 60 records with the Hot Five and, later, the Hot Seven. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Rock Icon KISS Is Saying Goodbye (For Real), Rihanna and 10 Other Great Pregnant Performances, Burt Bacharachs Legacy: 5 Notable Collaborations, 2023 Grammy Awards: Six Winners Who Made History. The boy's mother, Armstrong's cousin, had died in childbirth. Why is Louis Armstrong important in the 20's? Louis Armstrong was the most important and influential musician in jazz history. WebLouis Armstrong is arguably the most important musician that the United States has ever produced (Shipton 160). He was often left with his grandmother, and left school in fifth grade to start working. Armstrong was arrested at eleven years old for disturbing the peace. Louis Armstrong was the first black man in the U.S. to host a radio show. Armstrong had a difficult childhood: His father was a factory worker and abandoned the family soon after Louis's birth. (Biography.com), Many people knew Louis Armstrong as the first real genius of jazz(Shipton 26). In 1937, Louis Armstrong became the first African American entertainer to host a nationally sponsored radio show. While he was beloved by musicians, he was too wild for most critics, who gave him some of the most racist and harsh reviews of his career. Armstrong was obligated to leave school in the fifth grade to begin working. WebWhy Is Louis Armstrong Important. 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). In April, he reached the charts with his first vocal recording, "Big Butter and Egg Man," a duet with May Alix. Heebie Jeebies and Hotter Than That, was some of the earliest recordings of Armstrongs scat singing., He was a major piece in the history of jazz music and his career lasted for more than 50 years. He wrote songs such as The Pearls, Millenburg Joys, Mr. He moved to the Fate Marable band in the spring of 1919, staying with Marable until the fall of 1921. When Louis Armstrong was placed in a boys home as a young boy, he was presented with the opportunity to play the cornet. 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. 2012-02-22 18:06:07. West End Blues by Louis Armstrong is one of the most important songs in jazz. Copy. The movie he appeared in was Pennies from Heaven (1936). Related. WebWhy Is Louis Armstrong Important. 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. Louis Armstrong recorded many popular songs like La Vie en Rose, and his theme song When its Sleepy Time Down South. He was abandoned by his father, a boiler stoker, shortly after his birth and was raised by his paternal grandmother. Armstrong practiced his instrument and eventually he became the jazz great everyone knows today. Between the two, Armstrong has been the more unsullied figure in historical treatments and biographies. 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. ", During the mid-'50s, Armstrong's popularity overseas skyrocketed. What a Wonderful World struck a chord with moviegoers and was re-released that year, becoming an oft-requested radio hit. Armstrong's charismatic stage presence impressed not only the jazz world but all of popular music. WebHe overcame poverty to become one of the most important people in the history of music. During this time, Armstrong taught the band how to swing. He was released on June 16, 1914, and did manual labor while trying to establish himself as a musician. He faced tremendous adversity, ignorance and hatred in his life, and fought back without sinking to the level of those who opposed him. He took a position as star soloist in Carroll Dickerson's band at the Savoy Ballroom in Chicago in March 1928, later taking over as the band's frontman. By the end of his teens, Armstrong had grown up fast. Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans Louisinana, to Mayann, and Willie Armstrong. Louis does a really important trip to Africa this were the states or cities that he went with Cameroon, the Belgian Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Sierra Leone Jul 6, 1971. The sadest event Two days after his birthday of turning 70, Louis If the gun was not so easily accessible, his firing it and being arrested could have been prevented. It won him a Grammy for best vocal performance. He was known for both his joyous ways with the trumpet and his peculiarly touching and funny vocal style. Louis Armstrong was called "the single most important figure in the history of jazz" by Billboard magazine, a publication that tracks the recording industry. Born, August 4, 1901 he started off in a harder life than most people usually do. He was also a talented singer, and his recordings of songs like What a Louis Armstrong was to jazz music what Bach is to classical music, Presley is to rock music (Berrett 230). I think to myself, what a wonderful world. While not officially government-sponsored, there are some who believe the concert was arranged by the CIA, which would make this just one of the many taxpayer-funded appearances hed make abroad during the Cold War in an effort to strengthen diplomatic relations overseas. Many great performers have come out of the jazz industry, but the most widely known is Louis Satchmo Armstrong. Encyclopdia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them. 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. 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. 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.. Mozart, in his own traditional ways, the right away he did the first three of his 22 performances at that opera. Given his popularity, his long career, and the extensive label-jumping he did in his later years, as well as the differing jazz and pop sides of his work, his recordings are extensive and diverse, with parts of his catalog owned by numerous companies. Armstrong made his first trip abroad, to Europe, and received the nickname Satchmo from his original nickname Satchelmouth, because of his big lips. Louis gave jazz music a purpose. Instead of doing strictly jazz numbers, OKeh began allowing Armstrong to record popular songs of the day, including "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," "Star Dust" and "Body and Soul.". He began touring the country in the 1940s. Instead he used his talent as a ticket to improve his lot and create a meaningful life. On New Years Eve 1912, he was arrested and sent to the Colored Waifs Home for Boys. Best Known For: 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.. 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. Armstrong had a great influence on Henderson and his arranger, Don Redman, both of whom began integrating Armstrong's swinging vocabulary into their arrangementstransforming Henderson's band into what is generally regarded as the first jazz big band. Armstrongs improvised solos transformed jazz from an ensemble-based music into a soloists art, while his expressive vocals incorporated innovative bursts of scat singing and an underlying swing feel. To grasp how much the man adored this entre, consider that he often signed his personal letters with Red Beans and Ricely Yours.. According to this document, the performers actual birth date was August 4, 1901. In 1947, the waning popularity of the big bands forced Armstrong to begin fronting a small group, Louis Armstrong and His All Stars. In 1993, it gained renewed popularity when it was used in the film Sleepless in Seattle. Louis Armstrong was an American jazz musician who was one of the most influential figures in jazz music. There are two kinds of music, the good and the bad. Why Is Louis Armstrong Important. In June 1951 he reached the Top Ten of the LP charts with Satchmo at Symphony Hall ("Satchmo" being his nickname), and he scored his first Top Ten single in five years with "(When We Are Dancing) I Get Ideas" later in the year. That same year, Armstrong married for the fourth and final time; he wed Lucille Wilson, a Cotton Club dancer. Even the scepter of Uncle Tom that shadowed the outsized Satchmo during his career, and that Ellington essentially concurred with in an interview with Carter Harman in 1964, has faded. Though he was the product's biggest cheerleader, Armstrong neither requested nor received any payment from its manufacturers. His music was a happiness to individuals and they said he was a gift sent from heaven. We contributed Louis Armstrong. Louis Armstrong, also known as Ambassador Satch, was unofficially adopted by a family of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania who had a junk hauling business in Louisiana. 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. Armstrong had gained sufficient individual notice to make his recording debut as a leader on November 12, 1925. This was the first time anyone had ever recorded this technique known as scat singing. He also played as a second trumpet for King Oliver. He fused the jazz style of the place where he grew up with well known jazz of Broadway to coordinate a better than ever kind of jazz. WebCourtesy of the Louis Armstrong Archive Queens College, CUNY. 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. Louis Armstrong is famous for his stunning jazz performance, unique vocals, and amazing styles with the trumpet/cornet. In fifth grade, while being taken care of by his maternal grandmother most of the time, he left school to work. He took up work in Joe (King) Olivers house, doing chores in exchange for musical lessons, developing into a. Louis Armstrong is a man of many talents and skills known for creating a new environment, especially in his home town of New Orleans. He has many nicknames in which some are Satchmo and Pops. WebAnswer (1 of 2): Armstrongs first brass instrument and initial training was on the cornet, which is generally easier for younger or beginning players to learn and slightly smaller in size. Armstrong continued to appear in major films with the likes of Mae West, Martha Raye and Dick Powell. Aint that stupid? 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. While only a DNA test could officially prove whether a blood relationship does exist between Armstrong and Sharon and one has never been conducted between the two believers and skeptics can at least agree on one thing: Sharon's uncanny resemblance to the jazz legend. Legendary CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow followed Armstrong with a camera crew on some of his worldwide excursions, turning the resulting footage into a theatrical documentary, Satchmo the Great, released in 1957. Louis's Father left him around childbirth, and his mother often used prostitution for money. WebLouis Armstrong was the protege of King Oliver and one of the best loved musicians of the Twenties. By February 1927, Armstrong was well-enough known to front his own group, Louis Armstrong & His Stompers, at the Sunset Caf in Chicago. The man was Louis Armstrong. It is said that during a session, Armstrong dropped his sheet music and started mimicking the sounds of the horn with his voice. Although he is often thought of by the general public as a lovable, clowning personality, a gravel-voiced singer who played simple but dramatic trumpet in a New Orleans-styled Dixieland setting, Armstrong himself was so much more. WebToday, Louis Armstrong holds the title as the worlds greatest jazz player. Armstrong returned home in May 1971, and though he soon resumed playing again and promised to perform in public once more, he died in his sleep on July 6, 1971, at his home in Queens, New York. He also began appearing in the orchestra of Hot Chocolates, a Broadway revue, and was given a featured spot singing "Ain't Misbehavin'." In fact, before marrying his fourth wife, he made sure that she could cook a satisfactory plateful. Changing jazz into what was once known as a ensemble music to soloist art. 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.