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. For the first time, Armstrong was really able to demonstrate his unique voice during those recording sessions. Armstrong had a great influence on Henderson and his arranger, Don Redman, both of whom began integrating Armstrong's swinging vocabulary into their arrangementstransforming Henderson's band into what is generally regarded as the first jazz big band. However, Armstrong's southern background didn't mesh well with the more urban, Northern mentality of Henderson's other musicians, who sometimes gave Armstrong a hard time over his wardrobe and the way he talked. His rise to fame peaked in the 1920s, where he stunned the world with his bold trumpet style and idiosyncratic vocals. Louis Armstrong, nicknamed "Satchmo," "Pops" and, later, "Ambassador Satch," was a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. Many great performers have come out of the jazz industry, but the most widely known is Louis Satchmo Armstrong.
Louis Armstrong Revisiting Louis Armstrong in the Context Louis Armstrong was the first black man in the U.S. to host a radio show. He adds, "He was also more than a jazz musician he was an enormously popular entertainer"(pp. WebRather than appealing simply to the crowd of already established jazz lovers, Louis Armstrong was effective at bridging the gap and reaching out to those that may not have been as familiar with the genre and effectively serving as one of the best ambassadors that the jazz world has ever known. 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. WebLouis Armstrong remains an icon of American history and 20 th century popular culture. 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. Coupled with his astonishing performing skills and charismatic stage presence, Armstrong took the world by storm and popularized jazz as we know it today. He moved to the Fate Marable band in the spring of 1919, staying with Marable until the fall of 1921. Featuring young geniuses such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Miles Davis, the younger generation of musicians saw themselves as artists, not as entertainers. With his daring rhythmic choice, swinging vocabulary, and incredibly high notes; changing jazz history once again. Louis Armstrong is considered a hero for many reasons. 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.
Louis Armstrong - Biography, Jazz Musician, Trumpeter, 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. 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. Encyclopdia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them. 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. It is said that during a session, Armstrong dropped his sheet music and started mimicking the sounds of the horn with his voice. 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. To grasp how much the man adored this entre, consider that he often signed his personal letters with Red Beans and Ricely Yours.. While he still had to work odd jobs selling newspapers and hauling coal to the city's famed red-light district, Armstrong began earning a reputation as a fine blues player.
How Did Louis Armstrong Contribute To The Harlem Renaissance His Top Ten version of "Hobo, You Can't Ride This Train," in the charts in early 1933, was on Victor Records; when he returned to the U.S. in 1935, he signed to the recently formed Decca Records and quickly scored a double-sided Top Ten hit, "I'm in the Mood for Love"/"You Are My Lucky Star.". During this time, Armstrong adopted a three-year-old boy named Clarence. However, conditions changed when he was requested to record the title number of a broadway show that went on to become a hit. After a successful engagement in Las Vegas, Armstrong began taking engagements around the world, including in London and Washington, D.C. and New York (he performed for two weeks at New York's Waldorf-Astoria). The tune did, however, become a No. Previously, Armstrong had performed throughout Europe, Asia, and Africathough he famously canceled a planned 1957 Soviet Union tour, citing the recent Little Rock crisis. 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. Louis gave jazz music a purpose. In 16967, Armstrong recorded his most renowned tune, What a Wonderful Word that surprisingly featured no trumpet. In 1964, he scored a surprise hit with his recording of the title song from the Broadway musical Hello, Dolly!, which reached number one in May, followed by a gold-selling album of the same name. Armstrongs unique singing and masterful improvisation transitioned jazz from the traditional style to a newer, more rhythmic style. Armstrong defined what it was to play Jazz. Read Full Biography. Armstrong was brought up by his mother, Mary (Albert) Armstrong, and his maternal grandmother. How did Louis Armstrong influence others? Why Is Louis Armstrong Important. After being released at age fourteen, he worked selling papers, unloading boats, and selling coal from a cart. He was especially known for his spectacular trumpet playing, unmistakable voice, and exceptionally recognizable, broad smile., In three years they recorded over 60 records, which now are considered the most influential recordings in jazz history. The first important trend in New York Jazz was Hot Jazz that was an incendiary style introduced by Louis Armstrong (Winfield 170). I play the good kind (Armstrong). 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.
How Did Louis Armstrong Impact Society Armstrong spent his youth singing on the street for spare change, but he didnt receive any formal musical training until age 11. 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. His music had had a major effect on "swing" and the big band sound. 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. A year later, he was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. 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. Then, at the age of five, he was returned to the care of his mother, who at the time worked as a laundress.
Midway through the recording session, he accidentally dropped them and scatted to fill the ensuing silence. In 1936, he became the first African American jazz musician to write an autobiography: Swing That Music. In September, his recording of that song entered the charts, becoming a Top Ten hit. He also played as a second trumpet for King Oliver. He took a position as star soloist in Carroll Dickerson's band at the Savoy Ballroom in Chicago in March 1928, later taking over as the band's frontman. Armstrongs mentor, King Oliver, had Armstrong move to Chicago to be in his band; in Olivers, Aside from the typical cultural, social, and political factors influencing any musicians style, an early life filled with poverty and hardship also shaped Louis Armstrongs musical development. A young pianist from Pittsburgh, Earl Hines, assimilated Armstrong's ideas into his piano playing. Beginning in 1919, Armstrong spent his summers playing on riverboats with a band led by Fate Marable. At the start of Armstrongs career, he married Daisy Parker. Eldridge is the obvious link between Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie. Reel 163 Louis Armstrong, n.d. At the school he learned to play cornet. In 1988, music historian Thaddeus Tad Jones located a baptismal record at New Orleanss Sacred Heart of Jesus Church. One day, they even advanced him the $5 he used to buy his very first horn. West End Blues by Louis Armstrong is one of the most important songs in jazz. In 1972, a year after his death, he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In April, he reached the charts with his first vocal recording, "Big Butter and Egg Man," a duet with May Alix. 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. The year is 1954. He began following him and eventually Oliver became Armstrongs mentor.
The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky are also on the faces of people going by. 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.
Glaser did just that; within a few months, Armstrong had a new big band and was recording for Decca Records. Armstrong decided to take some time off soon after the incident, and spent much of 1934 relaxing in Europe and resting his lip. Louis Armstrong was the most important and influential musician in jazz history.
Louis Armstrong: The First Great Jazz Soloist After a quick trip with a group of people to Venice, Mozart and his daddy returned back to his hometown Salzburg. Love, baby - love. 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. His crucial contribution to American and world culture continues to reverberate into the 21 st century.
Why Together, Armstrong and Hines formed a potent team and made some of the greatest recordings in jazz history in 1928, including their virtuoso duet, "Weather Bird," and "West End Blues.". A local Jewish family, the Karnofskys, gave young Armstrong a job collecting junk and delivering coal. Satchmo didn't let the criticism stop him, however, and he returned an even bigger star when he began a longer tour throughout Europe in 1933. Turns out, he was 13 months off. 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. You have arrived to one of the most grand occasions of the year, dressed in your fanciest attire with a hundred watt smile gracing your lips. If the gun was not so easily accessible, his firing it and being arrested could have been prevented. Armstrong felt that being subservient to white people, was an unfortunately necessary evil in order for him to live successfully and happily. During his time there, he learned how to play the bugle cornet, an instrument that is similar to the trumpet.
They treat me better all over the world than they do in my hometown, he said. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. ", Armstrong's fully healed lip made its presence felt on some of the finest recordings of career, including "Swing That Music," "Jubilee" and "Struttin' with Some Barbecue.". All music is folk music. Why Is Louis Armstrong Important. Show More. Here is one paragraph from the post: From the very first note of West End Blues, a tune composed by Joe King Oliver, one can immediately sense the shift that 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. ", Armstrong signed with Columbia Records in the mid-'50s, and soon cut some of the finest albums of his career for producer George Avakian, including Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Between the two, Armstrong has been the more unsullied figure in historical treatments and biographies. Armstrong was featured in the 1969 film of Hello, Dolly!, performing the title song as a duet with Barbra Streisand. WebHe overcame poverty to become one of the most important people in the history of music. For this, he is revered by jazz fans. Hes a professional jazz performer who played with Oliver and Henderson. According to this document, the performers actual birth date was August 4, 1901. 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. He started as a soloist for Henderson after marrying Lil Hardin. That same year, his longtime manager, Joe Glaser, passed away. Related.
Biography - Louis Armstrong Home Museum Why is Louis Armstrong important? - Answers (1964), the latter knocking the Beatles off the top of the pop charts at the height of Beatlemania. He began touring the country in the 1940s. 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. That same year, he recorded with small New Orleans-influenced groups, including the Hot Five, and began recording larger ensembles. Louis did his first performance on stage in 1930 to spread his Jazz style. William Armstrong, his father, was a factory worker who abandoned the family soon after the boy's birth. He turned to Joe Glaser for help; Glaser had mob ties of his own, having been close with Al Capone, but he had loved Armstrong from the time he met him at the Sunset Caf (Glaser had owned and managed the club). Evidently, the show went well. He 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.. After they married in 1924, Hardin made it clear that she felt Oliver was holding Armstrong back. Armstrong and Oliver became the talk of the town with their intricate two-cornet breaks and started making records together in 1923. In fifth grade, while being taken care of by his maternal grandmother most of the time, he left school to work.