Louis Armstrong Essay, Research Paper

Louis Armstrong was the most successful and talented jazz musician in history.

His influence and expansive career continues to make waves in the jazz world.

That is what made him become what he is to many today ? a legend. Born on

August 4, 1901, in the poorest section of New Orleans, Armstrong grew up with

his grandparents due to his parents? separation. On January 1, 1913 he made a

mistake which turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him. At a

New Year?s celebration in downtown New Orleans, Louis Armstrong, also known as

?Satchmo? and ?Satch?, fired a pistol into the air and was placed in the

Colored Waifs? Home. It was there that he was introduced to Peter Davis ?

the brass band leader who taught him how to play the cornet (Brown 17). Soon

after he began playing, Armstrong was made leader of the band ? something he

was extremely proud of. In June of 1914, Armstrong was free to leave the

Waifs? Home. He was hired by various cabarets throughout the city, as well as

for picnics, dances, and funerals. It was at one of these places that he was

spotted by the famous Joe ?King? Oliver. King Oliver found Armstrong

stand-in slots at orchestras and other venues. In 1918, he was offered the

vacant seat left by Oliver in the band the Brown Skinned Babies. Kid Ory, leader

of the band, once said that after Louis joined them he, ??improved so fast

it was amazing. He had a wonderful ear and a wonderful memory. All you had to do

was hum or whistle a new tune to him and he?d know it right away? (Boujut

21). At the end of 1918 Armstrong married Daisy Parker, a prostitute he had met

at a dance hall that he played on Saturday nights. The marriage ended only four

years later due to her beating him regularly (Bergreen 87). Louis Armstrong was

hired in May of 1919 to play on a riverboat that traveled the Mississippi River

from New Orleans to St. Louis. Armstrong soon became very popular in St. Louis

and was in high demand (Collier 124). Two and a half years later, he was thrown

off the riverboat and fired due to a fight. After returning to New Orleans, he

received a telegram from King Oliver in Chicago. It was an invitation to join

The Creole Jazz Band ? an offer Armstrong couldn?t refuse. The Jazz Band cut

it?s first record in the spring of 1923 and toured throughout Illinois, Ohio,

and Indiana (Hadlock 64). A year later Armstrong married Lil Hardin, the pianist

in the band. He soon grew tired of playing in Chicago and left Oliver?s band

to head for New York City. When Armstrong reached the City and began playing

everyone went wild. No where had they ever heard anything like him. Before this

time, he had only played instruments but he was soon encouraged to begin

singing. It was then discovered that Armstrong had a natural extension of his

trumpet abilities, which was singing. His gravelly voice was something new that

had never been heard (Sadie 600). Armstrong formed a studio band in 1925 called

the Hot Five. The band included Johnny Dodds, Kid Ory, John St. Cyr, Lil

Armstrong, and himself. These recordings were some of the most famous made by

Armstrong, including ?Mandy Make Up Your Mind? and ?Money Blues? (Bergreen

96). A year later the Hot Five made their only public appearance at the Chicago

Coliseum. The Chicago Defender spoke of ?Louis Armstrong, the miracle with

steel lips,? (Boujut 27). For the next few years Armstrong recorded with the

Hot Five and played with other musicians in New York and Chicago. He then

traveled to California, in July of 1930, where he starred in his first film,

Flame. Only after he had been in California for a few weeks he was arrested at a

nightclub for the possession of marijuana. The incident obviously caused a lot

of controversy across the world. The sentence, six months in prison, was

suspended after only three days. Mainly due to Armstrong?s addiction to

marijuana, Lil separated from him and they no longer worked together (Boujut

33). In 1932 the Hot Five split up. Armstrong remained in California and starred

in Rhapsody in Black and Blue and You Rascal You. Later that year, he sailed to

England where he played for the King (Crouch 171). An experience that ranked as

?one of the best times of my life,? he stated (Bergreen 107). Something

interesting happened to Armstrong in 1933. In London?s Daily Express the death

of the ?trumpet player with lips of steel,? was reported (Boujut 36). Five

days later Melody Maker issued a correction but the news had already spread

around the globe. In April of 1934 Armstrong began touring Europe. He visited

various countries including France, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands

where he was welcomed with open arms. The tour was scheduled to carry on to

North Africa and Egypt, but the state of Armstrong?s? lips forced him to

cancel his remaining shows and not play for over eight months (Brown 154). In

1935 Armstrong formed a commercial style big band with fifteen other musicians

(Brown 76). For the next twelve years he starred in various films and played

with his new band. It was in 1947 that he abandoned the big band and returned to

small band format. He joined the All-Star?s, made up of Jack Teagarden, George

Wettling, Big Sid Catlett, Dick Cary, Peanuts Hucko, Bob Hagart. That turned out

to be the group he worked with until his death. In the heat of the Civil Rights

Movement, Louis Armstrong was called an ?Uncle Tom? by blacks, referring to

Harriet Beecher Stowe?s Uncle Tom?s Cabin. African-Americans blamed

Armstrong for not using his fame to speak out against the unjust treatment of

his race in the United States (Brown 92). They also said he was holding his race

back because he didn?t demand respect from whites and he smiled too much when

he was in public (Crouch 171). In Armstrong?s opinion he didn?t understand

what he was doing wrong. He had ignored prejudice because he had been taught to

respect people unless they had personally disrespected him (Brown 92). It was in

1955 that Louis Armstrong was made America?s musical ambassador. He traveled

throughout the world on the United States behalf and even made an album titled,

Ambassador Satch. All over the world he was respected and welcomed to perform

nearly anywhere he chose. Hello Dolly, Armstrong?s most well known song was

recorded in 1964. It hit number one on the Billboard charts on April 8th. It was

accompanied by one of movies he starred in which shared the same title. For the

next seven years of his life he was in and out of the hospital due to heart and

kidney problems. On July 6th, 1971, Louis Armstrong died of a lung infection and

heart complications. His last wish, that his trumpet be buried with him, was

granted. Louis Armstrong influenced almost all aspects of jazz technique and

style. He was the first to improvise and elaborate on a given melody. This

technique has since been attempted and copied time and time again. Armstrong

introduced a freedom to music that continues to impact popular music (Sadie

601). Without this American genius music would not be what it is today.

Bergreen, Lawrence. Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life. New York: Broadway,

1997. Boujut, Michel. Louis Armstrong. New York: Rizzoli, 1998. Brown, Sandford.

Louis Armstrong. New York: Watts, 1993. Collier, James Lincoln. Louis Armstrong:

An American Genius. New York: Oxford, 1983. Crouch, Stanley. ?Louis

Armstrong.? Time 8 Aug. 1998: 170. Sadie, Stanley. ed. ?Louis Armstrong.?

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 6th ed. Vol. 1. New York:

Macmillan, 1995.