why is louis armstrong important why is louis armstrong important

The musician didn't let the incident stop him, however, and after taking a few weeks off to recover, he was back on the road, performing 300 nights a year into the 1960s. WebDid You Know? Armstrong decided to take some time off soon after the incident, and spent much of 1934 relaxing in Europe and resting his lip. 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 Armstrongs moved into the home, where they would live for the rest of their lives, in 1943. With the assistance of the jazz musicians, the music industry, Making his voice sound like a musical instrument and singing nonsense syllables with no words created Scat singing. An early job working for the Jewish Karnofsky family allowed Armstrong to make enough money to purchase his first cornet. After being released at age fourteen, he worked selling papers, unloading boats, and selling coal from a cart. 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. Aint that stupid? Armstrong practiced his instrument and eventually he became the jazz great everyone knows today. Fletcher Henderson also influenced jazz music. Related. Within a span of three years, Armstrong recorded over sixty records. Armstrong's words made front-page news around the world. WebLouis Armstrong remains an icon of American history and 20 th century popular culture. In 1936, Louis Armstrong became the first African American jazz musician to write an autobiography, Swing That Music. WebLouis Armstrongas a musician, as a man, as an icon. Louis gave jazz music a purpose. He was often left with his grandmother, and left school in fifth grade to start working. The movie he appeared in was Pennies from Heaven (1936). Pillars of Life 3 y Related Why was jazz so important? In 1918, he married Daisy Parker, a prostitute, commencing a stormy union marked by many arguments and acts of violence. In 1914, the home released him, and he immediately began dreaming of a life making music. While he was beloved by musicians, he was too wild for most critics, who gave him some of the most racist and harsh reviews of his career. A YouTube poster named pandasthumb describes the piece. Ironically, Armstrong later wrote the whole thing off as a big blunder on his part. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. All music is folk music. Louis Armstrongs significance and most famous songs In 1936, he became the first African American jazz musician to write an autobiography. In 16967, Armstrong recorded his most renowned tune, What a Wonderful Word that surprisingly featured no trumpet. 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. Members of the group, at one time or another, included Jack Teagarden, Earl Hines, Sid Catlett, Barney Bigard, Trummy Young, Edmond Hall, Billy Kyle and Tyree Glenn, among other jazz legends. The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night. The most important and influential musician in jazz history, and one of the leading singers and entertainers from the 1920s through the '50s. A 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. 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. Armstrong was a busy man, he always had more than one thing going on, if he wasnt recording with Hot Five/Seven, he was performing in the Vendome theatre, playing music for silent movies.. By the start of 1932, he had switched from the "race"-oriented OKeh label to its pop-oriented big sister Columbia, for which he recorded two Top Five hits, "Chinatown, My Chinatown" and "You Can Depend on Me" before scoring a number one hit with "All of Me" in March 1932; another Top Five hit, "Love, You Funny Thing," hit the charts the same month. By the summer of 1970, Armstrong was allowed to perform publicly again and play the trumpet. The song for which Pops is most widely remembered, What a Wonderful World, was almost never his song at all. During this period, Armstrong set a number of African American "firsts." 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. His rise to fame peaked in the 1920s, where he stunned the world with his bold trumpet style and idiosyncratic vocals. He was a groundbreaking musician and a pioneer in the development of jazz music. It was on the riverboat that Armstrong honed his music reading skills and eventually had his first encounters with other jazz legends, including Bix Beiderbecke and Jack Teagarden. Personnel changed over the years but this remained Armstrongs main performing vehicle for the rest of his career. His mother, Mayann, was 15 years old when he was born and his father, Willie, abandoned them soon after. A year in New York with Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra proved unsatisfying so Armstrong returned to Chicago in 1925 and began making records under his own name for the first time. The record was released in 1964 and quickly climbed to the top of the pop music charts, hitting the No. But, as a Bayou State native, Armstrongs favorite dish was always rice and beans. It has given me something to live for. For this, he is revered by jazz fans. This pop success was repeated internationally four years later with "What a Wonderful World," which hit number one in the U.K. in April 1968. To grasp how much the man adored this entre, consider that he often signed his personal letters with Red Beans and Ricely Yours.. Aristotle did not consider children as morally responsible as adults because they have not had sufficient time to move beyond their backgrounds and upbringing. Instead he used his talent as a ticket to improve his lot and create a meaningful life. Louis Armstrong (Aug 4th, 1901 - Jul 6th, 1971) was an American trumpeter, composer, singer and occasional actor who became one of the most influential figures in jazz. By that point, Armstrong began dating the pianist in the band, Lillian Hardin. He was taken under the wing of cornetist Joe "King" Oliver, and when Oliver moved to Chicago in June 1918, Armstrong replaced him in the Kid Ory Band. How did Louis Armstrong influence others? He recorded several songs throughout his career, including he is known for songs like "Star Dust," "La Vie En Rose" and "What a Wonderful World. Their marriage was not a happy one, however, and they divorced in 1942. With his amazing voice trumpet he created a band and made some records. Unhappy, Armstrong left Henderson in 1925 to return to Chicago, where he began playing with his wife's band at the Dreamland Caf. WebThrough the internet and books we find out why Louis Armstrong is such a great person to learn about. The year 1956 saw Louisiana prohibit integrated bands. Louis Armstrong recorded many popular songs like La Vie en Rose, and his theme song When its Sleepy Time Down South. The Hot Five and Hot Seven were strictly recording groups; Armstrong performed nightly during this period with Erskine Tate's orchestra at the Vendome Theater, often playing music for silent movies. Today, these are generally regarded as the most important and influential recordings in jazz history; on these records, Armstrong's virtuoso brilliance helped transform jazz from an ensemble music to a soloist's art. The pistol should have been stored in a locked, Armstrong did not define himself by his background and could have grown up to be just another poor child from a broken home. WebWhy Is Louis Armstrong Important. Why Louis Armstrong was important? 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. Best Known For: Louis Armstrong was a jazz trumpeter, bandleader and singer known for songs like "What a Wonderful World, Hello, Dolly, Star Dust and "La Vie En Rose.. Born, August 4, 1901 he started off in a harder life than most people usually do. However, controversy regarding Armstrong's fatherhood struck in 1954, when a girlfriend that the musician had dated on the side, Lucille "Sweets" Preston, claimed she was pregnant with his child. Its popularity brought many people together, even through the years of racial discrimination and the Great Depression. he is important because he was the first black singer. 232) Armstrong unlike other black jazz men and women, was one of the first to be welcomed in the upper echelons of white society. At the mention jazz music, that person will first think of is likely to be a great figure with a clown image, nicknamed Satchmo. Armstrong was featured nightly on Ain't Misbehavin', breaking up the crowds of (mostly white) theatergoers nightly. Bebop, a new form of jazz, had blossomed in the 1940s. As a trumpet virtuoso, his playing, beginning with the 1920s studio recordings he made with his Hot Five and Hot Seven ensembles, charted a future for jazz in highly imaginative, emotionally charged improvisation. Armstrong fought back, but for many young jazz fans, he was regarded as an out-of-date performer with his best days behind him. That same year, Armstrong married for the fourth and final time; he wed Lucille Wilson, a Cotton Club dancer. 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). 2012-02-22 18:06:07. According to this document, the performers actual birth date was August 4, 1901. When Louis Armstrong was placed in a boys home as a young boy, he was presented with the opportunity to play the cornet. His influence, both as an artist and cultural icon, is universal and is still relevant today. His career rose in New Orleans. In 1938, Armstrong finally divorced Lil Hardin and married Alpha Smith, whom he had been dating for more than a decade. He took up work in Joe (King) Olivers house, doing chores in exchange for musical lessons, developing into a. Louis Armstrong is a man of many talents and skills known for creating a new environment, especially in his home town of New Orleans. Despite failing to make a new record for two years, Armstrong remained a fan favorite. WebHe overcame poverty to become one of the most important people in the history of music. At His Majestys command, several of the biggest names in jazz took their talents to Buckingham Palace, and in 1932, Armstrong was requested for a royal performance. (Armstrong did not function as a bandleader in the usual sense, but instead typically lent his name to established groups.) There are two kinds of music, the good and the bad. You might be able to buy a little better booze than the wino on the corner. The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of Armstrong used to say that hed been born on July 4, 1900. Despite failing to make a new record for two years, Armstrong remained a fan favorite. Louis began playing at a young age when he was growing up in New Orleans. In fifth grade, while being taken care of by his maternal grandmother most of the time, he left school to work. He was employed by a Jewish family who encouraged him to sing. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. 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. He spread jazz throughout the world. Armstrong spent his youth singing on the street for spare change, but he didnt receive any formal musical training until age 11. The story behind the jazz legends final hit and, quite simply, one of the most beautiful songs ever written. Armstrong brought. It won him a Grammy for best vocal performance. His charismatic stage presence impressed not only the jazz world but all of popular music. WebBy the '50s, Armstrong was an established international celebrity--an icon to musicians and lovers of jazz--and a genial, infectiously optimistic presence wherever he appeared. Louis was arrested by Police When he was eleven. Louis Armstrong was the most important and influential musician in jazz history. One of the first soloists on record, Louis was at the forefront of changing jazz from ensemble-oriented folk music into an art form that emphasized inventive solo improvisations. Though he was the product's biggest cheerleader, Armstrong neither requested nor received any payment from its manufacturers. See answer (1) Best Answer. "What a Wonderful World" peaked on the U.S. music charts after Armstrong passed away. While not officially government-sponsored, there are some who believe the concert was arranged by the CIA, which would make this just one of the many taxpayer-funded appearances hed make abroad during the Cold War in an effort to strengthen diplomatic relations overseas. 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. In recent years, Armstrong's alleged daughter, who now goes by the name Sharon Preston Folta, has publicized various letters between her and her father. (Jazz From New Orleans, Jazz music was one of the most popular music genres in the 1920s and 1930s. After a quick trip with a group of people to Venice, Mozart and his daddy returned back to his hometown Salzburg. He influenced countless other musicians and helped to shape the course of jazz. The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky are also on the faces of people going by. The joyous tune perfectly and ironically clashed with the wartime horrors depicted in one montage, so director Barry Levinson added it to his films soundtrack. He performed in Europe for the first time in 1932 and returned in 1933, staying for over a year because of a damaged lip. Why Is Louis Armstrong Important. (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. Thereafter until his death in 1971, however, Armstrong never publicly addressed whether he was in fact Sharon's father. Despite failing to make a new record for two years, Armstrong remained a fan favorite. He was a master of the trumpet and a skilled improviser, and his style of playing influenced many other jazz musicians. According to Armstrong, that nights biggest laugh came right before his group started playing You Rascal, You. Without warning, he looked straight up at the monarch and hollered, This ones for you, Rex!, Fresh off the wild success of his Hello, Dolly! cover, Armstrong made a trip to communist East Berlin in 1965, where he gave a two-hour concert that earned a standing ovation. One of the greatest cornet players in town, Joe "King" Oliver, began acting as a mentor to the young Armstrong, showing him pointers on the horn and occasionally using him as a sub. Louis Armstrong was called "the single most important figure in the history of jazz" by Billboard magazine, a publication that tracks the recording industry. Why is Louis Armstrong important to blacks? Armstrongs improvised solos transformed jazz from an ensemble-based music into a soloists art, while his expressive vocals incorporated innovative bursts of scat singing and an underlying swing feel. The first recording of What a Wonderful World was produced by ABC Records, which made no attempt to advertise it domestically. (She was the second of his four wives.) He subsequently passed, so the duo contacted Armstrong in August 1967. Eldridge is the obvious link between Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie. Louis Armstrong is one of the most important jazz figures. 1 slot in May 1964, and knocking the Beatles off the top at the height of Beatlemania. Handy and Satch Plays Fats. Louis Armstrong was a jazz trumpeter, bandleader and singer known for songs like "What a Wonderful World, Hello, Dolly, Star Dust and "La Vie En Rose.. 34-56 107th Street, Queens, NY 11368 718-478-8274 2023 Louis Armstrong House Museum, 34-56 107th Street, Queens, NY 11368 718-478-8274, The Louis Armstrong House Museum is a constituent of the. Armstrong played the trumpet so powerfully that he often split his lip. WebHe had a string of pop hits beginning in 1949 and started making regular overseas tours, where his popularity was so great, he was dubbed Ambassador Satch. In America, Armstrong had been a great Civil Rights pioneer, breaking down He has many nicknames in which some are Satchmo and Pops. In 1967, Armstrong recorded a new ballad, "What a Wonderful World." The many years of constant touring eventually wore down Armstrong, who had his first heart attack in 1959 and returned to intensive care at Beth Israel Hospital for heart and kidney trouble in 1968. He sang much as he played, but with a playfulness and a rasp, that would forever be part of American culture (Winfield 167). These records later went on to become the most influential in jazz history, as it was the first time Armstrong facilitated the evolution of jazz as a ensemble to a soloist art. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. In the 1980s and '90s, younger African American jazz musicians like Wynton Marsalis, Jon Faddis and Nicholas Payton began speaking about Armstrong's importance, both as a musician and a human being. Louis was born in New Orleans where he grew up and learned to play the trumpet. On New Years Eve 1912, he was arrested and sent to the Colored Waifs Home for Boys. At the school he learned to play cornet. He was an extraordinary musician and he impacted jazz music immensely. Contracted to OKeh Records, he began to make a series of recordings with studio-only groups called the Hot Fives or the Hot Sevens. Within a span of three years, Armstrong recorded over sixty records. 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. WebLouis Armstrong was the most important and influential musician in jazz history. A series of new biographies on Armstrong made his role as a civil rights pioneer abundantly clear and, subsequently, argued for an embrace of his entire career's output, not just the revolutionary recordings from the 1920s. Show More. Louis Armstrong was successful in jazz because he learned on his own with daily practice while influencing others with his music by making smiles appear on their face. Armstrong put his career in Glaser's hands and asked him to make his troubles disappear. He was from a very poor family and was sent to reform school when he was twelve after firing a gun in the air on New Year's Eve. He is remembered as the most influential artist in the early development of jazz. Given his popularity, his long career, and the extensive label-jumping he did in his later years, as well as the differing jazz and pop sides of his work, his recordings are extensive and diverse, with parts of his catalog owned by numerous companies. For live dates, he appeared with the orchestras led by Erskine Tate and Carroll Dickerson. Armstrong was featured in the 1969 film of Hello, Dolly!, performing the title song as a duet with Barbra Streisand. WebLouis Armstrong. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. 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. (Biography.com), Many people knew Louis Armstrong as the first real genius of jazz(Shipton 26). The single's B-side, and also a chart entry, was "A Kiss to Build a Dream On," sung by Armstrong in the film The Strip. Louis Armstrong is one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. 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. The year is 1954. The way they are treating my people in the South, declared Armstrong, the government can go to hell.. In America, Armstrong had been a great Civil Rights pioneer, breaking down numerous barriers as a young man. Armstrongs unique singing and masterful improvisation transitioned jazz from the traditional style to a newer, more rhythmic style. After completing the optimistic anthem, songwriters Bob Thiele and George David Weiss thought that Tony Bennett would eat it right up. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Seeing "the writing on the wall," Armstrong scaled down to a smaller six-piece combo, the All Stars; personnel would frequently change, but this would be the group Armstrong would perform live with until the end of his career. Sure enough, he explained, they [published] Heebie Jeebies the same way it was mistakenly recorded. However, most biographers believe that Armstrong made up this anecdote and had planned on scatting all along. 1. He was abandoned by his father, a boiler stoker, shortly after his birth and was raised by his paternal grandmother. Armstrong's new manager, Joe Glaser, organized a big band for him that had its premiere in Indianapolis on July 1, 1935; for the next several years, he toured regularly. WebAnswer (1 of 2): Armstrongs first brass instrument and initial training was on the cornet, which is generally easier for younger or beginning players to learn and slightly smaller in size. In a strange turn of events, it was during this tour that Armstrong's career fell apart: Years of blowing high notes had taken a toll on Armstrong's lips, and, following a fight with his manager Johnny Collins who already managed to get Armstrong into trouble with the Mafia he was left stranded overseas by Collins. If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know. As an artist, Armstrong was embraced by two distinctly different audiences: jazz fans who revered him for his early innovations as an instrumentalist but were occasionally embarrassed by his lack of interest in later developments in jazz, especially his willingness to serve as a light entertainer; and pop fans, who delighted in his joyous performances, particularly as a vocalist, but were largely unaware of his significance as a jazz musician. Louis Armstrong was to jazz music what Bach is to classical music, Presley is to rock music (Berrett 230). He began following him and eventually Oliver became Armstrongs mentor. Being in many bands before he was not new to this. Then along came a bare-knuckled comedy called Good Morning, Vietnam (1987). During his time there, he learned how to play the bugle cornet, an instrument that is similar to the trumpet. He started as a soloist for Henderson after marrying Lil Hardin. Louis Armstrong was important in the 1920's because he put a whole new meaning to jazz. Armstrong defined what it was to play Jazz. Then, at the age of five, he was returned to the care of his mother, who at the time worked as a laundress. Louis did his first performance on stage in 1930 to spread his Jazz style. It did not gain as much notice in the U.S. until 1987, when it was used in the film Good Morning, Vietnam, after which it became a Top 40 hit. Louis Daniel (Louie) Armstrong is perhaps the most important and influential person in the history of jazz music, swing music, and jazz vocal styling. WebLouis Armstrong is arguably the most important musician that the United States has ever produced (Shipton 160). Show More. Finding Yourself, Dropping, Halfway. He was an all-star virtuoso, and came to prominence in the 1920s playing cornet and trumpet with an excitingly new and improvisational style. Making money ain't nothing exciting to me. His greatest inspiration was Joe King Oliver. The tune did, however, become a No. A year later, he was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The book was titled Swing That Music. By the end of the decade, the popularity of the Hot Fives and Sevens was enough to send Armstrong back to New York, where he appeared in the popular Broadway revue, Hot Chocolates. He soon began touring and never really stopped until his death in 1971. Perhaps most importantly, the letters also detail Armstrong's fatherly love for Sharon. Doctors advised him not to play but Armstrong continued to practice every day in his Corona, Queens home, where he had lived with his fourth wife, Lucille, since 1943. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 4, 1901. WebLouis Armstrong is arguably the most important musician that the United States has ever produced (Shipton 160). Louis's Father left him around childbirth, and his mother often used prostitution for money. In 1988, music historian Thaddeus Tad Jones located a baptismal record at New Orleanss Sacred Heart of Jesus Church. The 1930s also found Armstrong achieving great popularity on radio, in films, and with his recordings. His rise to the top, though not overnight, occurred quickly, he played with mostly all the major bands in New Orleans over the next few years (Friedwald 350). He began touring the country in the 1940s. Henderson also forbade Armstrong from singing, fearing that his rough way of vocalizing would be too coarse for the sophisticated audiences at the Roseland Ballroom. WebLouis Armstrongs ability to use his career to change the music and jazz industry forever is another great example of why Louis Armstrong exhibits the right. Louis Armstrong was the greatest of all Jazz musicians. Similarly, many of his most influential recordings, like 1928's "West End Blues" and 1955's "Mack the Knife," have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. He returned to Broadway in the short-lived musical Swingin' the Dream in November 1939. His resurgence in the '60s with hit recordings like 1965's Grammy-winning "Hello Dolly" and 1968's classic "What a Wonderful World" solidified his legacy as a musical and cultural icon.