Louis Armstrong
1901-1971
Biography
Louis Armstrong, born on August 4, 1901 in New Orleans Louisiana, was a musician and a comedian. At the beginning of his career he played in small clubs and at funerals. He grabbed the attention of older respected musicians. Joe "King" Oliver invited Louis to be apart of his band. He later gained even more experience by playing on riverboats. The next year he went to New York and Joe Glaser became his manager. During Glaser's management, Louis played in films, radio shows, theaters, dance halls, and nightclubs. In 1942 he married his wife, Lucille Wilson, and in 1943 they purchased a home where they lived for the rest of their lives. He continued to play his music until the year before he died. He still remains an icon today.
Accomplishments
- Developed a way of playing jazz, as an instrumentalist and a vocalist, which has had an impact on all musicians to follow.
- Wrote two autobiographies, more than ten magazine articles, hundreds of pages of memoirs, and thousands of letters.
- Was the only Black Jazz musician to publicly speak out against school segregation in 1957.
- So popular that warring sides in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa temporarily stopped fighting in 1960 to attend an Armstrong concert.
- Appeared in more than thirty films.
- Composed dozens of songs that have become jazz standards.
- Performed an average of 300 concerts each year, earning him the nickname "Ambassador Satch,"