Biography of Louis Armstrong
by Alexis Becker
Louis Armstrong's Life
Louis Daniel Armstrong was born August 4, 1901 in New Orleans, Louisiana. His father abandoned the family when he was just an infant. His mother later left him in the hands of his grandmother. Armstrong's life was changed when on New Years Eve 1913, when he went out to celebrate with a gun loaded with blanks and shot at another kid he was then arrested and sent to a Colored Waifs home. The Colored Waifs home had a little band Louis started as one of the background tambourine players and worked his way up to the lead position on the cornet. Many amazing things happened in Louis Armstrong's life but that was just his early childhood and its sad to say that all stopped when he passed away on July 06, 1971 in New York, New York, United States.
Impact of Louis Armstrong
In the 1920's the dancing started changing and so did the music . In 1922, Armstrong started changing the music with his voice and his trumpet, this type of music is now known as jazz. Louis Armstrong's life and successful sixty year career epitomizes the American success story. The jazz world was transformed with Armstrong's introduction of the extended solo. He was one of the biggest musicians in both New York and Chicago.
Armstrong's Music
Armstrong's music was a big hit in the 1920's and so were all of his songs.
The Trumpet
The Trumpet was one of Louis Armstrong's most played instruments, other than his voice.
Hello Dolly!
Louis Armstrong and Barbra Streisand in a scene from the film version of "Hello, Dolly!"
What a wonderful world - LOUIS ARMSTRONG.
"What a wonderful world"
This song was Louis Armstrong's most popular song. The song was written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released as a single in 1967.
What do you think this song was written about and the meaning for it?
Sources
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_a_Wonderful_World
3 http://www.ncdcr.gov/Portals/7/Collateral/database/s04.1920s.decade.change.pdf
4 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/louis-armstrong/about-louis-armstrong/528/