We all do 'do re mi,' but you have got to find the other notes yourself. West End Blues by Louis Armstrong is one of the most important songs in jazz. If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know. To untold millions, every note that he let loose made the world feel a bit more wonderful, and his music is still being discovered by new generations of fans. Blessed with, Armstrong was born in New Orleans on August 4, 1901. Sources: Pops had a special place in his heart for both Chinese and Italian food. 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. He was one of America's most significant artists by the late 1930s, and had created a sensation in Europe with live performances and records. It is said that during a session, Armstrong dropped his sheet music and started mimicking the sounds of the horn with his voice. He also learned to sing. A year later, he was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. His fame rose when he composed several masterworks in the 1940s. Though he had finally spoken out after years of remaining publicly silent, he received criticism at the time from both Black and white public figures. On New Year's Eve in 1912, Armstrong fired his stepfather's gun in the air during a New Year's Eve celebration and was arrested on the spot. (She was the second of his four wives.) Mob bosses from New York City and Chicago threatened Louis Armstrong in attempts to control his management contract. After recording with Oliver for over a year, Armstrong moved into what would become the most important early-jazz big band, Fletcher Hendersons Orchestra (Shipton 201). Music historians recognize this as the first popular, mass-market scat ever recorded. Armstrong continued to tour extensively, despite a heart attack in June 1959. This led some to alter his long-time nickname, Satchmo, to "Ambassador Satch.". Louis Daniel (Louie) Armstrong is perhaps the most important and influential person in the history of jazz music, swing music, and jazz vocal styling. His lips were still sore, and there were still remnants of his mob troubles and with Lil, who, following the couple's split, was suing Armstrong. The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night. Louis Armstrong, also known as the king of jazz was born on Augest 4th, 1901, in New Orleans Louisiana; he died July 6, 1971 in Corona Queens New York. WebLouis Armstrong was the protean genius that made African American classical music mislabeled as jazz the most important music event of the 20th century. He was an extraordinary musician and he impacted jazz music immensely. WebLouis Armstrong was the protege of King Oliver and one of the best loved musicians of the Twenties. The record was released in 1964 and quickly climbed to the top of the pop music charts, hitting the No. William Armstrong, his father, was a factory worker who abandoned the family soon after the boy's birth. 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). He made his first recordings with Oliver on April 5, 1923; that day, he earned his first recorded solo on "Chimes Blues.". A young pianist from Pittsburgh, Earl Hines, assimilated Armstrong's ideas into his piano playing. By the '50s, Armstrong was widely recognized, even traveling the globe for the US. But, as a Bayou State native, Armstrongs favorite dish was always rice and beans. Copy. Armstrong's four marriages never produced any children, and because he and wife Lucille Wilson had actively tried for years to no avail, many believed him to be sterile, incapable of having children. During this time, Armstrong adopted a three-year-old boy named Clarence. 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). 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. That's the secret. Some even theorize that it was Armstrongs difficult upbringing that made his music so wise, so unique, and so revolutionary. Armstrong brought. All Rights Reserved. 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. those works included Cotton Tail and Ko-Ko. Some of his most popular songs included "It Don 't Mean a Thing if It Ain 't Got That Swing," "Sophisticated Lady," "Prelude to a Kiss," "Solitude," and "Satin Doll (Duke Ellington Biography). The year 1956 saw Louisiana prohibit integrated bands. Louis Armstrong was important in the 1920's because he put a whole new meaning to jazz. In the summer of 1929, Armstrong headed to New York, where he had a role in a Broadway production of Connie's Hot Chocolates, featuring the music of Fats Waller and Andy Razaf. 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). Armstrong's charismatic stage presence impressed not only the jazz world but all of popular music. The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky are also on the faces of people going by. Louis began playing at a young age when he was growing up in New Orleans. When Armstrong returned to Chicago in 1935, he had no band, no engagements and no recording contract. Armstrong moved to Chicago to join Oliver's band in August 1922 and made his first recordings as a member of the group in the spring of 1923. In 1993, it gained renewed popularity when it was used in the film Sleepless in Seattle. He attended Colored Waifs Home in 1913 for eighteen months. He performed all over the world in the 1950s and '60s, including throughout Europe, Africa and Asia. Its popularity brought many people together, even through the years of racial discrimination and the Great Depression. However, conditions changed when he was requested to record the title number of a broadway show that went on to become a hit. he put his soul and dedicated his life to his music. Related. If the gun was not so easily accessible, his firing it and being arrested could have been prevented. His greatest inspiration was Joe King Oliver. He started as a soloist for Henderson after marrying Lil Hardin. Born in 1901 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Armstrong had a difficult childhood. Armstrong defined what it was to play Jazz. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. WebLouis Armstrongas a musician, as a man, as an icon. WebLouis Armstrong was the most important and influential musician in jazz history. A local Jewish family, the Karnofskys, gave young Armstrong a job collecting junk and delivering coal. Armstrong was featured nightly on Ain't Misbehavin', breaking up the crowds of (mostly white) theatergoers nightly. He returned to Chicago in the spring of 1932 to front a band led by Zilner Randolph; the group toured around the country. ", During the mid-'50s, Armstrong's popularity overseas skyrocketed. Love, baby - love. An early job working for the Jewish Karnofsky family allowed Armstrong to make enough money to purchase his first cornet. (Cayton, 462) Armstrong was the king of jazz trumpet players. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. In America, Armstrong had been a great Civil Rights pioneer, breaking down numerous barriers as a young man. He was an all-star virtuoso, and came to prominence in the 1920s playing cornet and trumpet with an excitingly new and improvisational style. The most important and influential musician in jazz history, and one of the leading singers and entertainers from the 1920s through the '50s. They also encouraged him to sing and often invited him into their home for meals. Released from the Waifs Home in 1914, Armstrong set his sights on becoming a professional musician. In 1964, he scored a surprise hit with his recording of the title song from the Broadway musical Hello, Dolly!, which reached number one in May, followed by a gold-selling album of the same name. By the end of the decade, the popularity of the Hot Fives and Sevens was enough to send Armstrong back to New York, where he appeared in the popular Broadway revue, Hot Chocolates. He soon began touring and never really stopped until his death in 1971. Coupled with his astonishing performing skills and charismatic stage presence, Armstrong took the world by storm and popularized jazz as we know it today. The tune did, however, become a No. 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). He married Lillian Harden, the pianist in the Oliver band, on February 5, 1924. At the school he learned to play cornet. Mozart had written over 600 pieces of works, many acknowledged his pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral music. Members of the group, at one time or another, included Jack Teagarden, Earl Hines, Sid Catlett, Barney Bigard, Trummy Young, Edmond Hall, Billy Kyle and Tyree Glenn, among other jazz legends. WebWhy Is Louis Armstrong Important. He was known for both his joyous ways with the trumpet and his peculiarly touching and funny vocal style. Because of his long improvised solos, he inspired jazz so that long solos became an important part of jazz pieces and performances. He studied music there and played cornet and bugle in the school band, eventually becoming its leader. Nobody did what Louis could do. Though Armstrong was content to remain in New Orleans, in the summer of 1922, he received a call from Oliver to come to Chicago and join his Creole Jazz Band on second cornet. How did Louis Armstrong influence others? Armstrong's popularity continued to grow in Chicago throughout the decade, as he began playing other venues, including the Sunset Caf and the Savoy Ballroom. He is also the first African American celebrity to appear in a major Hollywood movie. Fletcher Henderson also influenced jazz music. In fifth grade, while being taken care of by his maternal grandmother most of the time, he left school to work. He moved to the Fate Marable band in the spring of 1919, staying with Marable until the fall of 1921. He attended school until he was in the 5th grade, he stopped going to help support his family. Another one of Armstrongs notable qualities, scat singing (wordless singing/mummering) was also popularized during this. It won him a Grammy for best vocal performance. After completing the optimistic anthem, songwriters Bob Thiele and George David Weiss thought that Tony Bennett would eat it right up. He began touring the country in the 1940s. He recorded several songs throughout his career, including he is known for songs like "Star Dust," "La Vie En Rose" and "What a Wonderful World. Similarly, many of his most influential recordings, like 1928's "West End Blues" and 1955's "Mack the Knife," have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. 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. When Louis Armstrong was placed in a boys home as a young boy, he was presented with the opportunity to play the cornet. Outraged, Armstrong refused to stage another concert within the state's borders. A YouTube poster named pandasthumb describes the piece. He was also a talented singer, and his recordings of songs like What a I ain't never heard a horse sing a song. Armstrong used to say that hed been born on July 4, 1900. Larkin states, "It is impossible to overstate Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong's importance in jazz." However, conditions changed when he was requested to record the title number of a broadway show that went on to become a hit. Armstrong had gained sufficient individual notice to make his recording debut as a leader on November 12, 1925. Armstrong fought back, but for many young jazz fans, he was regarded as an out-of-date performer with his best days behind him. Thereafter until his death in 1971, however, Armstrong never publicly addressed whether he was in fact Sharon's father. By that point, Armstrong began dating the pianist in the band, Lillian Hardin. The year is 1954. 2012-02-22 18:06:07. Read Full Biography. Handy and Satch Plays Fats. Meanwhile, Armstrong's reputation as a musician continued to grow: In 1918, he replaced Oliver in Kid Ory's band, then the most popular band in New Orleans. Because of Armstrongs brilliance, his records such as Cornet Chop Suey and Potato Head Blues are esteemed because of his risky rhythmic choices and high notes. WebLouis Armstrong remains an icon of American history and 20 th century popular culture. What made jazz continuously popular was the way it progressed. He was a master of the trumpet and a pioneer of jazz. 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 Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901, in New Orleans, Louisiana, in a neighborhood so poor that it was nicknamed "The Battlefield.". A few weeks later after his birth his father leaves his mother alone with a family. Wiki User. Related. Armstrong was obligated to leave school in the fifth grade to begin working.
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