Louis Armstrong – Short Biography

Quick facts
Louis Armstrong was a trumpeter, singer, film star and comedian. His charismatic stage
presence impressed not only the jazz world but all of popular music.
Birth Date: 4th August 1901 - New Orleans, Louisiana
Death Date: 6th July 1971 - Corona, Queens, New York
Nickname: “Satchmo", "Pops", later also "Ambassador Satch”

Younger Years
Louis Armstrong was born in a very poor part of the city and had a difficult childhood. Forced to
leave school in the fifth grade, he began working collecting junk and delivering coal. During one
New Year's Eve celebration he fired a gun in the air, was arrested and sent to the Coloured
Waif's Home for Boys. There, he fell in love with music as he received musical instruction on the
cornet. When home released him, he again had to work jobs like selling newspapers but soon
Joe "King" Oliver, one of the greatest cornet players in town, started to be his mentor, showing
him how to play the horn. In his late teens, he married his first wife Daisy Parker, a prostitute. S
hortly after, he began to play in the most popular band in New Orleans which allowed him to
begin concentrating full-time on his cornet.
Big Band Jazz
Though Armstrong was content in New Orleans, he gladly accepted a call from King Oliver to come to Chicago and join his
jazz band. Soon they made their first recordings and it was then when he recorded his first cornet solo ( Chimes Blues).
Armstrong divorced and soon married the pianist in the band, Lillian Hardin. She pushed him to cut ties with his mentor and
join the best African-American dance band in New York at the time. But Armstrong's southern background didn't mesh well
with the band’s more urban, northern mentality.
Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five
Unhappy, Armstrong returned to Chicago where OKeh Records let him make his first
records with a band under his own name: Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five. In four
years (1925-1928) they made more than 60 records which are today regarded as the
most important and influential recordings in jazz history.
At that time, Armstrong switched to the trumpet and also began singing on these
recordings. His vocal transformations of the songs, his deep, gravelly voice,
completely changed the concept of singing in popular music and had lasting effects
on all singers after him, including Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra and Ella
Fitzgerald.
Career Problems
By 1932, beside recording, he played music for silent movies, begun appearing in movies and also made his first tour of
England when, in a strange turn of events, Armstrong's career almost fell apart, mainly for two reasons: first: years of
blowing high notes had taken a toll on Armstrong's lips, and second: his manager Johnny Collins managed to get
Armstrong into trouble with the American Mafia. Cornered, Armstrong decided to take some time off and spent much of
1934 relaxing in Europe and resting his lip.
When Armstrong returned to Chicago, he had no band, no engagements and no recording contract. His lips were still sore,
and there were still some mob troubles. He and Lil separated and she was suing Armstrong. Desperate, he turned to Joe
Glaser for help (Joe had his own mob ties having been close with Al Capone, but he had loved Armstrong’s music). Within
a few months, Armstrong had a new big band and was recording for Decca Records.
Marriages and Divorces
When in 1938, Armstrong finally divorced, he was free to marry Alpha Smith, whom he had been dating for more than a
decade. But their marriage was not a happy one. They divorced four years later and soon after he married for the fourth—
and final—time; he wed Lucille Wilson, a Cotton Club dancer. Soon Wilson became tired of endless travels so The
Armstrongs bought a house in New York, where they would live for the rest of their lives.

1/4
40s and 50s-Armstrong’s biggest hits
By the mid-'40s, the Swing Era and the era of big bands was almost over. So, Armstrong
organised a smaller six-piece combo (combo = small jazz band), the All Stars. Armstrong
would perform live with them until the end of his career. In the late 1940s and early '50s he
made many popular hits, including Blueberry Hill, That Lucky Old Sun, La Vie En Rose, A
Kiss to Build a Dream On etc. Then he joined with Columbia Records and soon cut some
of the finest albums of his career. He also made one of the biggest hits of his career: his jazz
interpretation of the song Mack the Knife.
Ambassador Satch
During the mid-'50s, Armstrong's popularity overseas skyrocketed. His long-time nickname, Satchmo, became
"Ambassador Satch." He performed all over the world in the 1950s and '60s. Legendary CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow
followed him with a camera crew worldwide and made a documentary, “Satchmo the Great”. Despite his popularity and
being a hero to the African-American community, Armstrong began losing his standing with his audience. A new form of
jazz- Bebop, had blossomed featuring young stars such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Miles Davis. The younger
musicians saw themselves as artists, not as entertainers. They criticized Armstrong as old-fashioned. In those times there
were many marches and speeches from African Americans wanting equal rights. To many young jazz listeners, Armstrong's
ever-smiling face and his refusal to comment on politics only seemed that he was out of touch.
Little Rock Nine
It changed in 1957, when the National Guard was sent to prevent nine black students from
entering the public school Little Rock in Arkansas. Armstrong saw this on TV, as well as white
protesters shouting insults at the students. He told the press: “President Eisenhower has no
guts…The way they are treating my people in the South, the government can go to hell."
Armstrong's words made front-page news around the world. While not a single jazz musician took
his side, today this is seen as one of his bravest moments.

Later Career
In 1959 he had a heart attack while touring in Italy. However, after few weeks he was back on
the road, performing 300 nights a year.
Still a popular attraction around the world but he hadn't made a record in two years. Then he
was called into the studio to record the title number for a new Broadway show: Hello, Dolly! The
record quickly made No. 1, knocking the Beatles off the top at the height of Beatlemania (May
1964). This introduced Armstrong to a new, younger audience. He continued making both
successful records and live shows for the rest of the decade (even cracking the "Iron Curtain"
with a tour of Communist countries such as East Berlin and Czechoslovakia in 1965).Then Armstrong recorded a new
ballad, What a Wonderful World (1967). Different from most of his recordings, the song features no trumpet. The tune
become a No. 1 hit in the world.
Final Years
By 1968, Armstrong's tiring lifestyle had finally caught up with him. Heart and kidney problems forced him to stop
performing. That same year, his long-time manager, Joe Glaser, passed away. Armstrong spent much of that year at home,
but managed to continue practicing the trumpet daily. By the summer of 1970, he was allowed to perform publicly again and
play the trumpet. After a successful engagement in Las Vegas, Armstrong began performing around the world. However, a
heart attack stopped him for two months. He returned home and though he soon resumed playing again and promised to
perform in public once more, he died in his sleep. He was 70.
Satchmo's Legacy
Since his death, Armstrong's stature has only continued to grow. A series of new biographies on Armstrong made his role
as a civil rights pioneer. Armstrong's home in New York was declared a National Historic Landmark (1977). Today, the
house is home to the Louis Armstrong House Museum, with thousands of visitors from all over the world. One of the most
important figures in 20th century music, Armstrong's innovations as a trumpeter and vocalist are widely recognized today,
and will continue to be for decades to come.

2/4
 Read and connect
to make 8 senteces:

DID YOU KNOW…?

Armstrong was the grandson of slaves. His father Clarence was mentally disabled as
left soon after his birth. Because of poverty, his he had suffered a head injury, but he
mother often left Louis was taken care of by Armstrong his
entire life.
As a child, Armstrong's wide smile earned him a
nickname "Satchelmouth" (satchel: a bag closed in the care of her mother while she
by a flap), which became "Satchmo" in the 1930s turned to prostitution. So, basically
when a London writer mistakenly contracted the he was raised by his grandmother.
words.

the oldest musician in American

Armstrong played on a steamboat on the history to have a No.1 song.
Mississippi River in the jazz band of then famous
pianist and band leader, Fate Marable.
But Armstrong liked the nickname
While married to his first wife, Armstrong adopted very much and had it engraved on
three-year-old Clarence, the child of Armstrong’s some of his instruments.
cousin, who had died in childbirth.

Louis referred to these times as his

During the early 30’s Armstrong got tangled up
“university days”.
with rival mob bosses who controlled the night
clubs in New York and Chicago. He avoided these
areas for some time. When he returned to He was also the first African
Chicago, American jazz musician to write an
As Armstrong, at age 62, displaced two No.1 autobiography.
songs by The Beatles, he became
Armstrong was threatened by
gangsters, ordering him to go to
Armstrong once said: “If it hadn’t been for jazz,
New York. But Armstrong refused
to obey and went touring again.
He was the first African American to get featured
billing in a Hollywood film and the first African
American entertainer to host a national radio there wouldn’t be no rock and roll.”
show in 1937.
 1. Where was Louis Armstrong born?
A. New Orleans
B. Atlanta
C. Chicago

2. What were Armstrong's major instruments?

A. flute, horn
B. saxophone, trombone
C. trumpet, vocals

3. Where did Armstrong first learn to play the cornet?

A. In reform school
B. With trumpeter Joe 'King' Oliver
C. At home

4. Armstrong was the first true improviser of jazz music known for his ....
A. Expertise in saxophone technique
B. Deep, gravelly voice
C. Smooth, soft voice

5. Of which illness did Louis Armstrong die?

A. pneumonia
B. cancer
C. heart attack

Now listen and enjoy the song “What a Wonderful World” (video clip with lyrics):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOEweXeMysI

IF YOU HAVE TO ASK WHAT JAZZ IS,

YOU'LL NEVER KNOW.

Louis Armstrong