Louis Armstrong
The Greatest trumpet player
His Legacy
Louis Armstrong is one of the most influential Jazz musicians in the world. His groundbreaking sound and timeless style still influence musicians to this day. His contributions to Jazz helped take it from an American art form, to an art form enjoyed, celebrated, and played around the world.
His Childhood
Louis Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901, one of two children a boy and a girl born to Willie and Maryann Armstrong in New Orleans, Louisiana. His father abandoned the family soon after Louis’s birth, and Louis and his sister were raised by his mother and grandmother. The family lived in the Black Storyville section of New Orleans nicknamed “the Battlefield”, known for extreme poverty, gambling, and crime. The Armstrong family lived without water and Louis and his sister Beatrice often went without shoes. However, Storyville was full of music; it flowed from every chimney, window, and alleyway. The music of Storyville was Jazz, and here is where Louis’s love for music was born.
Living in extreme poverty meant Louis had to go to work at an early age. By the time he was 9 he had about a dozen jobs. He sold papers, sung on corners, made and sold instruments out of cigar boxes, read the daily paper to old people, and worked with a Russian Jewish family, the Karnofskys doing a variety of jobs for their junk cart. The Karnofskys liked Louis a lot, and would refuse to let him go home until they gave him something to eat. They even loaned him the money to buy his first brass cornet, because of their kindness when he was older he wore a Star of David around his neck in remembrance of them.
When Louis was 12 he was arrested for shooting a gun with blanks in it while out celebrating New Year’s Eve. The police were brutal; they shoved him into a paddy wagon, and took him to a reform school called Colored Waif’s Home for Boys. Louis missed Storyville, but in some ways life there was better. He never had to wonder where his next meal was coming from, he could listen to as much music as he wanted, and he played in a The Colored Waif’s Home Brass Band. This is where Louis perfected his horn playing skills and got the nickname “Satchelmouth”, because they would always tease how a mouth so big fits into a mouthpiece of a Trumpet. Sometimes he would wonder how is this a bad place, it was great. However, he still missed his mom, sister, and grandmother, but until his mother had enough money to pay for his release he was stuck.
His Music career
Ironically, when Louis was 14, his father, who he had not seen in years came and paid for his release. When Louis saw his father he said “it was like going with a stranger.” His father said he was going to take care of him, but ended up putting Louis to work while he partied all night. His dad eventually sent him back to live with his mother, and that made Louis very happy. Seeing his mom, sister, and grandmother again felt like Mardigras and was a hug fest, and he dusted off his horn and the first song he played was Home Sweet Home.
Back home in Storyville, Louis worked different jobs around town during the day while he played the cornet at night in clubs. He wanted to become a full-time musician, and the 1920’s was the perfect time to do it. Gone were the days of the horse and buggy as they were being replaced by the automobile, and young people were up all night at speakeasies or clubs learning dances like the Turkey Trot. Jazz went hand in hand with these new times, and in 1922, Louis got the opportunity to become a full-time musician. He moved to Chicago with bandleader and mentor Joe Oliver. Louis loved playing in King Oliver’s band, and when they played together it was like their horns talked to each other. In 1924 he married the band’s piano player, Lil Hardin, and at her suggestion they left for New York City to play with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. His playing impressed audiences and musicians such as Duke Ellington. He made his mark inventing a new sound not named at the time, but later called swing. He said it was a way of “cutting loose and taking the music with you.”
His final years
He returned to the United States and lived with his wife Lucille in Queens, NY. They visited many countries were crowds of up to 100,000 people would come to hear him play. He went on to sing the song Hello, Dolly!, and his last job was playing at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
Louis Armstrong died on July 6, 1971; more than 25,000 came to his funeral. His music legacy still lives on, and people still enjoy listening to and watching his recordings. He has inspired countless people to play, but nobody can replace that timeless style. In his own words Louis Armstrong really did help make it “a Wonderful World.”