That same year, Armstrong married for the fourth and final time; he wed Lucille Wilson, a Cotton Club dancer. 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. 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. Armstrong defined what it was to play Jazz. 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 His influence, both as an artist and In the 1950s, he was sometimes criticized for his onstage persona and called an Uncle Tom but he silenced critics by speaking out against the governments handling of the Little Rock Nine high school integration crisis in 1957. He was a master of the trumpet and a pioneer of jazz. He began following him and eventually Oliver became Armstrongs mentor. Though he had finally spoken out after years of remaining publicly silent, he received criticism at the time from both Black and white public figures. During this period, he switched from cornet to trumpet. Satch Plays Fats, a tribute to Fats Waller, became a Top Ten LP for Columbia in October 1955, and Verve Records contracted Armstrong for a series of recordings with Ella Fitzgerald, beginning with the chart LP Ella and Louis in 1956. Larkin states, "It is impossible to overstate Louis 'Satchmo' Armstrong's importance in jazz." By the '50s, Armstrong was widely recognized, even traveling the globe for the US. Why was Louis Armstrong important to the Harlem Renaissance? Armstrong joined Henderson in the fall of 1924 and immediately made his presence felt with a series of solos that introduced the concept of swing music to the band. One of the first many New Orleans style jazz artists is Jelly Roll Morton. Armstrong's home in Corona, Queens was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977; today, the house is home to the Louis Armstrong House Museum, which annually receives thousands of visitors from all over the world. The family treated Armstrong like a member, bought him his first trumpet, and encouraged his musical aspirations. His career rose in New Orleans. (Cayton, 462) Armstrong was the king of jazz trumpet players. He was by far the most enduringly popular man of all the classical composers, and his influence on following Western art music was very good and intense., Intro 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. He interprets and contributes to the genre of jazz, creates great form through his performance in the Hot Chocolates, and his work represents a whole for equality and the civil rights movement. The boy's mother, Armstrong's cousin, had died in childbirth. The year 1956 saw Louisiana prohibit integrated bands. .State Department and earning the nickname "Ambassador Satch." According to this document, the performers actual birth date was August 4, 1901. Personnel changed over the years but this remained Armstrongs main performing vehicle for the rest of his career. At one point in Heebie Jeebiesa 1926 song released by Armstrong and his "Hot Five bandthe singer vocalizes a series of nonsensical, horn-like sounds. Willies habit of devoting all his attention to his second, Because firing guns to welcome in the New Year was a New Orleans custom, he thought (even at 11 years old) that it would be morally acceptable to fire the gun. His crucial contribution to American and world culture continues to reverberate into the 21 st century. 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. The latter performance is one of Armstrong's best known works, opening with a stunning cadenza that features equal helpings of opera and the blues; with its release, "West End Blues" proved to the world that the genre of fun, danceable jazz music was also capable of producing high art. He popularized scat singing and was the first musician to have his solo on a recording (Rodgers 85). 149 Copy quote. On New Years Eve 1912, he was arrested and sent to the Colored Waifs Home for Boys. Unhappy, Armstrong left Henderson in 1925 to return to Chicago, where he began playing with his wife's band at the Dreamland Caf. Louis Armstrong recorded many popular songs like La Vie en Rose, and his theme song When its Sleepy Time Down South. A few weeks later after his birth his father leaves his mother alone with a family. Louis began playing at a young age when he was growing up in New Orleans. 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. In 1936, he became the first African American jazz musician to write an autobiography: Swing That Music. Related. He was soon able to stop working manual labor jobs and began concentrating full-time on his cornet, playing parties, dances, funeral marches and at local "honky-tonks"a name for small bars that typically host musical acts. For the first time, Armstrong was really able to demonstrate his unique voice during those recording sessions. Losing weight proved difficult at first, but his luck changed once he learned of an herbal laxative called Swiss Kriss. The artist promptly went out, bought a box, and became a lifelong spokesman. He married Lillian Harden, the pianist in the Oliver band, on February 5, 1924. Louis Armstrongs significance and most famous songs In 1936, he became the first African American jazz musician to write an autobiography. However, conditions changed when he was requested to record the title number of a broadway show that went on to become a hit. They also encouraged him to sing and often invited him into their home for meals. He returned to Broadway in the short-lived musical Swingin' the Dream in November 1939. Armstrong's four marriages never produced any children, and because he and wife Lucille Wilson had actively tried for years to no avail, many believed him to be sterile, incapable of having children. He was a master of the trumpet and cornet, and his style of playing was unique and instantly recognizable. 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. While growing up, Armstrong did assorted jobs for the Karnofskys, a family of Lithuanian-Jewish immigrants. Since New Orleans style jazz known to man, it was one of the broadest genres of jazz. This is where Armstrong first fell in love with music; he would listen to people playing any chance that he would get(Tirro). The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic, American actress, singer, director, producer. https://www.britannica.com/facts/Louis-Armstrong, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (1990), jazz: The cornetist breaks away: Louis Armstrong and the invention of swing. 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. 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. If the gun was not so easily accessible, his firing it and being arrested could have been prevented. Louis Armstrong was a pivotal musician in the twentieth century, but it was his contributions and his role he made during the Harlem Renaissance movement that is most substantial. Every time I close my eyes blowing that trumpet of mine, I look right into the heart of good old New Orleans. Wiki User. However, conditions changed when he was requested to record the title number of a broadway show that went on to become a hit. 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). Despite failing to make a new record for two years, Armstrong remained a fan favorite. Pillars of Life 3 y Related Why was jazz so important? His music was a happiness to individuals and they said he was a gift sent from heaven. Armstrong's popularity continued to grow in Chicago throughout the decade, as he began playing other venues, including the Sunset Caf and the Savoy Ballroom. By the mid-'40s, the Swing Era was winding down and the era of big bands was almost over. His lips were still sore, and there were still remnants of his mob troubles and with Lil, who, following the couple's split, was suing Armstrong. Related. Only Charlie Parker comes close to having as much influence on the history of Jazz as Louis Armstrong did. The records by Louis Armstrong and His Fiveand later, Hot Sevenare the most influential in jazz. He is remembered as the most influential artist in the early development of jazz. WebToday, Louis Armstrong holds the title as the worlds greatest jazz player. Armstrong fronted the Luis Russell Orchestra for a tour of the South in February 1930, and in May went to Los Angeles, where he led a band at Sebastian's Cotton Club for the next ten months. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Because of Armstrongs brilliance, his records such as Cornet Chop Suey and Potato Head Blues are esteemed because of his risky rhythmic choices and high notes. Armstrong was arrested at eleven years old for disturbing the peace. Armstrong soon began dating the female pianist in the band, Lillian Hardin. Being in many bands before he was not new to this. Eventually tour ended and Louis went back home to continue his. 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. Turns out, he was 13 months off. During this time, Armstrong adopted a three-year-old boy named Clarence. Finding Yourself, Dropping, Halfway. The most important and influential musician in jazz history, and one of the leading singers and entertainers from the 1920s through the '50s. The new style that he created gave a voice-like quality to his horn. Armstrong had access to guns and decided to borrow a .38 that one of his stepfathers stored in a trunk in the Armstrong home (67). He made his first recordings with Oliver on April 5, 1923; that day, he earned his first recorded solo on "Chimes Blues.". Encyclopdia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them. Armstrong continued touring the world and making records with songs like Blueberry Hill (1949), Mack the Knife (1955) and Hello, Dolly! Armstrong used to say that hed been born on July 4, 1900. Not a single jazz musician who had previously criticized him took his side but today, this is seen as one of the bravest, most definitive moments of Armstrong's life. 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. Fletcher Henderson also influenced jazz music. Armstrong was brought up by his mother, Mary (Albert) Armstrong, and his maternal grandmother. Legendary CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow followed Armstrong with a camera crew on some of his worldwide excursions, turning the resulting footage into a theatrical documentary, Satchmo the Great, released in 1957. 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. It started in New Orleans and over the years, stretched out throughout the whole United States. those works included Cotton Tail and Ko-Ko. Some of his most popular songs included "It Don 't Mean a Thing if It Ain 't Got That Swing," "Sophisticated Lady," "Prelude to a Kiss," "Solitude," and "Satin Doll (Duke Ellington Biography). He performed all over the world in the 1950s and '60s, including throughout Europe, Africa and Asia. Love, baby - love. Throughout the years, jazz musicians have created many new styles, new arrangements, and put this genre of music on the map., He affected the heading of jazz music and spontaneous creation. He was also a frequent presence on radio, and often broke box-office records at the height of what is now known as the "Swing Era. Released from the Waifs Home in 1914, Armstrong set his sights on becoming a professional musician. To untold millions, every note that he let loose made the world feel a bit more wonderful, and his music is still being discovered by new generations of fans. 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. Armstrong was featured nightly on Ain't Misbehavin', breaking up the crowds of (mostly white) theatergoers nightly. He worked for to get his instrument because his mother couldn't afford to buy him one. The man was Louis Armstrong. To earn money, Armstrong sang on street corners, sold newspapers, and delivered coal. 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. Armstrong accepted, and he was soon taking Chicago by storm with both his remarkably fiery playing and the dazzling two-cornet breaks that he shared with Oliver. Reel 163 Louis Armstrong, n.d. Beginning in 1919, Armstrong spent his summers playing on riverboats with a band led by Fate Marable. 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.