Armstrong returned to New York with his band for an engagement at Connie's Inn in Harlem in May 1929. The song for which Pops is most widely remembered, What a Wonderful World, was almost never his song at all. Louis began playing at a young age when he was growing up in New Orleans. He was also a talented singer, and his recordings of songs like What a Louis Armstrong was a pivotal musician in the twentieth century, but it was his contributions and his role he made during the Harlem Renaissance movement that is most substantial. However, conditions changed when he was requested to record the title number of a broadway show that went on to become a hit. The book was titled Swing That Music. While growing up, Armstrong did assorted jobs for the Karnofskys, a family of Lithuanian-Jewish immigrants. It was also for Columbia that Armstrong scored one of the biggest hits of his career: His jazz transformation of Kurt Weill's "Mack the Knife. 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. He dropped out of school at 11 to join an informal group, but on December 31, 1912, he fired a gun during a New Year's Eve celebration, and was sent to reform school. 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. 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). Louis Armstrong In 1967, Armstrong recorded a new ballad, "What a Wonderful World." When Armstrong was eleven years old, he got in trouble for shooting a gun on New Years Eve to ring in the new year, 1912. 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. You feel butterflies in your stomach as you take your seat. When Louis Armstrong was placed in a boys home as a young boy, he was presented with the opportunity to play the cornet. WebImportance of Louis Armstrong. In a 1951 interview with Esquire, Armstrong claimed to have come prepared with printed lyrics that day. The civil rights movement was growing stronger with each passing year, with more protests, marches and speeches from African Americans wanting equal rights. Armstrong continued touring the world and making records with songs like Blueberry Hill (1949), Mack the Knife (1955) and Hello, Dolly! Louis was the illegitimate son of William Armstrong and Mary Est Mayann Albert. His amazing technical abilities, the joy and spontaneity, and amazingly quick, inventive musical mind still dominate Jazz to this day. 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. Armstrong was featured nightly on Ain't Misbehavin', breaking up the crowds of (mostly white) theatergoers nightly. Why Is Louis Armstrong Important - 1689 Words | Cram He also began singing on these recordings, popularizing wordless "scat singing" with his hugely popular vocal on 1926's "Heebie Jeebies.". For the first time, Armstrong was really able to demonstrate his unique voice during those recording sessions. The new style that he created gave a voice-like quality to his horn. He spread jazz throughout the world. Armstrong joined Henderson in the fall of 1924 and immediately made his presence felt with a series of solos that introduced the concept of swing music to the band. 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 Armstrong 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). 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. Louis Armstrong was an American jazz musician who was one of the most influential figures in jazz music. Their marriage was not a happy one, however, and they divorced in 1942. Copy. Without the jazz musicians, jazz music would not have been possible. The first important trend in New York Jazz was Hot Jazz that was an incendiary style introduced by Louis Armstrong (Winfield 170). He was abandoned by his father, a boiler stoker, shortly after his birth and was raised by his paternal grandmother. As swing and jazz was dominant as the pop music of the early 20th century, his influence is also evident in the transition from swing and jump blues into rock and roll. In the 1950s, he was sometimes criticized for his onstage persona and called an Uncle Tom but he silenced critics by speaking out against the governments handling of the Little Rock Nine high school integration crisis in 1957. A few weeks later after his birth his father leaves his mother alone with a family. Louis Armstrong was called "the single most important figure in the history of jazz" by Billboard magazine, a publication that tracks the recording industry. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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. Armstrong was brought up by his mother, Mary (Albert) Armstrong, and his maternal grandmother. William Armstrong, his father, was a factory worker who abandoned the family soon after the boy's birth. What made jazz continuously popular was the way it progressed. His mother, who often turned to prostitution, frequently left him with his maternal grandmother. Because of his long improvised solos, he inspired jazz so that long solos became an important part of jazz pieces and performances. Eventually tour ended and Louis went back home to continue his. Pillars of Life 3 y Related Why was jazz so important? WebWhy Is Louis Armstrong Important. He moved to the Fate Marable band in the spring of 1919, staying with Marable until the fall of 1921. WebHe overcame poverty to become one of the most important people in the history of music. At the mention jazz music, that person will first think of is likely to be a great figure with a clown image, nicknamed Satchmo. Study now. 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. 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). WebLouis Armstrong. 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. He subsequently passed, so the duo contacted Armstrong in August 1967. 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. The most important and influential musician in jazz history, and one of the leading singers and entertainers from the 1920s through the '50s. Louis was able to get hired as a junk collecter and coal deliverer. 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 greatest inspiration was Joe King Oliver. Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus sent in the National Guard to prevent the Little Rock Nine nine African American students from entering the public school. 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). 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. (Hakim, 58) Although Jazz was very popular itself, a majority of the fans and listeners were younger people. After trying it, he said that defecation sounded like Applause. Enamored, the musician began handing out packets to admirers, loved ones, and band members. 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. He began following him and eventually Oliver became Armstrongs mentor. We contributed Louis Armstrong. He was a groundbreaking musician and a pioneer in the development of jazz music. 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. 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. What A Wonderful World: Louis Armstrongs Iconic Ballad Beginning in 1919, Armstrong spent his summers playing on riverboats with a band led by Fate Marable. Louis Armstrong. His mother, Mayann, was 15 years old when he was born and his father, Willie, abandoned them soon after. Reel 163 Louis Armstrong, n.d. 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. Louis Armstrong was important in the 1920's because he put a whole new meaning to jazz. In 1914, the home released him, and he immediately began dreaming of a life making music. He also played as a second trumpet for King Oliver. A local Jewish family, the Karnofskys, gave young Armstrong a job collecting junk and delivering coal. Why Louis Armstrong was important? 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. 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. One day, they even advanced him the $5 he used to buy his very first horn. He was then sent to the Colored Waif's Home for Boys. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. If Armstrong never bought the cornet he would have never become famous. It has given me something to live for. The lights dim, and the velvet curtains slide open. He showed an early interest in music, and a junk dealer for whom he worked as a grade-school student helped him buy a cornet, which he taught himself to play. They also encouraged him to sing and often invited him into their home for meals. The man was Louis Armstrong. What was Louis Armstrongs childhood like? The way they are treating my people in the South, declared Armstrong, the government can go to hell.. WebThrough the internet and books we find out why Louis Armstrong is such a great person to learn about. 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). 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. Armstrong defined what it was to play Jazz. He is a husky singer, often with a trumpet in his hand. Armstrong spent much of that year at home, but managed to continue practicing the trumpet daily. Eldridge is the obvious link between Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie. Between the two, Armstrong has been the more unsullied figure in historical treatments and biographies. Study now. To grasp how much the man adored this entre, consider that he often signed his personal letters with Red Beans and Ricely Yours.. Mentored by the citys top cornetist, Joe King Oliver, Armstrong soon became one of the most in-demand cornetists in town, eventually working steadily on Mississippi riverboats. At the school he learned to play cornet. He made his film debut in Ex-Flame, released at the end of 1931. He was released on June 16, 1914, and did manual labor while trying to establish himself as a musician. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Louis Armstrong Armstrong was arrested at eleven years old for disturbing the peace. He attended school until he was in the 5th grade, he stopped going to help support his family. Back in Chicago, OKeh Records decided to let Armstrong make his first records with a band under his own name: Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five. One of the first many New Orleans style jazz artists is Jelly Roll Morton. The year 1956 saw Louisiana prohibit integrated bands. When Wilson tired of living out of a suitcase during endless strings of one-nighters, she convinced Armstrong to purchase a house at 34-56 107th Street in Corona, Queens, New York. There are two kinds of music, the good and the bad. Related. Armstrong continued a grueling touring schedule into the late '50s, and it caught up with him in 1959, when he had a heart attack while traveling in Spoleto, Italy. 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. 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. Career highlights, compiled by the Louis Armstrong House Museum: Mozart, in his own traditional ways, the right away he did the first three of his 22 performances at that opera. A young pianist from Pittsburgh, Earl Hines, assimilated Armstrong's ideas into his piano playing. 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. ", 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.". There were many jazz musicians. That same year, he became the first African American to get featured billing in a major Hollywood movie with his turn in Pennies from Heaven, starring Bing Crosby. The brilliance of his playing, the warmth of his vocals, and his integrity as a human being simply inspires me. 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 was the primary ever "Genius" of jazz music. Why is Louis Armstrong important in the 20's? Mob bosses from New York City and Chicago threatened Louis Armstrong in attempts to control his management contract. he is important because he was the first black singer. Bebop, a new form of jazz, had blossomed in the 1940s. The Armstrongs moved into the home, where they would live for the rest of their lives, in 1943. Why was Louis Armstrong always smiling Previously, Armstrong had performed throughout Europe, Asia, and Africathough he famously canceled a planned 1957 Soviet Union tour, citing the recent Little Rock crisis. 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. Despite failing to make a new record for two years, Armstrong remained a fan favorite. When Armstrong returned to Chicago in 1935, he had no band, no engagements and no recording contract. Although the ballad topped the 1968 charts in Great Britain, American sales were abysmal. Armstrong was still a popular attraction around the world in 1963, but hadn't made a record in two years. Midway through the recording session, he accidentally dropped them and scatted to fill the ensuing silence. Louis Armstrong in The Civil Rights Movement He began to grow artistically and perfected his improvisational method (Jazz Stars 2). Personnel changed over the years but this remained Armstrongs main performing vehicle for the rest of his career. The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky are also on the faces of people going by. Armstrong's words made front-page news around the world. WebA jazz pioneer, Louis Armstrong was the first important soloist to emerge in jazz, and he became the most influential musician in the music's history. There was a cheerful impatience in his playing, an optimistic confidence that led him to risk going over the top (Shipton 157). Louis Armstrong: History & Major Accomplishments His career rose in New Orleans. He performed all over the world in the 1950s and '60s, including throughout Europe, Africa and Asia.