why is louis armstrong important
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. Aint that stupid? He was a master of the trumpet and a skilled improviser, and his style of playing influenced many other jazz musicians. In a 1951 interview with Esquire, Armstrong claimed to have come prepared with printed lyrics that day. There were many jazz musicians. 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. In fifth grade, while being taken care of by his maternal grandmother most of the time, he left school to work. 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. 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. WebLouis Armstrongas a musician, as a man, as an icon. 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. Armstrong was still a popular attraction around the world in 1963, but hadn't made a record in two years. An early job working for the Jewish Karnofsky family allowed Armstrong to make enough money to purchase his first cornet. Louis Armstrong is famous for his stunning jazz performance, unique vocals, and amazing styles with the trumpet/cornet. He spent the next several years in Europe, his American career maintained by a series of archival recordings, including the Top Ten hits "Sweethearts on Parade" (August 1932; recorded December 1930) and "Body and Soul" (October 1932; recorded October 1930). He was released on June 16, 1914, and did manual labor while trying to establish himself as a musician. 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. He spread jazz throughout the world. 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. Why Louis Armstrong's "West End Blues" is Important Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Wiki User. Louis Armstrong was important in the 1920's because he put a whole new meaning to jazz. Louis Armstrong - Biography, Jazz Musician, Trumpeter, But many of his recorded performances are masterpieces, and none are less than entertaining. Despite failing to make a new record for two years, Armstrong remained a fan favorite. He was often left with his grandmother, and left school in fifth grade to start working. He was raised by his mother Mayann in a neighborhood so dangerous it was called The Battlefield. He only had a fifth-grade education, dropping out of school early to go to work. Armstrong continued to appear in major films with the likes of Mae West, Martha Raye and Dick Powell. Why Is Louis Armstrong Important. He was abandoned by his father, a boiler stoker, shortly after his birth and was raised by his paternal grandmother. The year 1956 saw Louisiana prohibit integrated bands. His greatest inspiration was Joe King Oliver. The memory of things gone is important to a jazz musician. 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. What was Louis Armstrongs childhood like? Armstrong's words made front-page news around the world. The bottom line of any country in the world is what did we contribute to the world? His career rose in New Orleans. he put his soul and dedicated his life to his music. Released from the Waifs Home in 1914, Armstrong set his sights on becoming a professional musician. 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). In 1947, the waning popularity of the big bands forced Armstrong to begin fronting a small group, Louis Armstrong and His All Stars. It has given me something to live for. He was an extraordinary musician and he impacted jazz music immensely. The letters, dated as far back as 1968, prove that Armstrong had indeed always believed Sharon to be his daughter, and that he even paid for her education and home, among several other things, throughout his life. Armstrong was obligated to leave school in the fifth grade to begin working. Show More. Jazz is a genre of music that brought a whole community of people together. Born in 1901 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Armstrong had a difficult childhood. But you get sick just like the next cat and when you die you're just as graveyard dead as he is. At the school he learned to play cornet. By that point, Armstrong began dating the pianist in the band, Lillian Hardin. Louis Armstrong was the most important and influential musician in jazz history. Since New Orleans style jazz known to man, it was one of the broadest genres of jazz. The way they are treating my people in the South, declared Armstrong, the government can go to hell.. Armstrong continued to tour extensively, despite a heart attack in June 1959. By the '50s, Armstrong was widely recognized, even traveling the globe for the US. 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.". He played dramatic works of simple structure in Orleans jazz style and with the accompaniment of Dick jazz music. Why Is Louis Armstrong Important. Why Louis Armstrong was important? However, had his upbringing been different, his musical talents may never have been established to grow and thrive into one of the most internationally influential jazz musicians ever. 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). Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans in 1901. Related. During this time, Armstrong adopted a three-year-old boy named Clarence. WebLouis Armstrong is arguably the most important musician that the United States has ever produced (Shipton 160). 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. Louis Armstrong was the greatest of all Jazz musicians. WebLouis Armstrong was the protege of King Oliver and one of the best loved musicians of the Twenties. Armstrong spent his youth singing on the street for spare change, but he didnt receive any formal musical training until age 11. 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. Every time I close my eyes blowing that trumpet of mine, I look right into the heart of good old New Orleans. In December of that year, he was called into the studio to record the title number for a Broadway show that hadn't opened yet: Hello, Dolly! Beginning in 1919, Armstrong spent his summers playing on riverboats with a band led by Fate Marable. He also learned to sing. 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. He returned to Broadway in the short-lived musical Swingin' the Dream in November 1939. Clarence, who had become mentally disabled from a head injury he had suffered at an early age, was taken care of by Armstrong his entire life. Ironically, Armstrong later wrote the whole thing off as a big blunder on his part. He was one of America's most significant artists by the late 1930s, and had created a sensation in Europe with live performances and records. WebLouis Armstrong is arguably the most important musician that the United States has ever produced (Shipton 160). Louis Armstrong was important in the 1920's because he put a whole new meaning to jazz. He is also the first African American celebrity to appear in a major Hollywood movie. Mentored by the citys top cornetist, Joe King Oliver, Armstrong soon became one of the most in-demand cornetists in town, eventually working steadily on Mississippi riverboats. Even the scepter of Uncle Tom that shadowed the outsized Satchmo during his career, and that Ellington essentially concurred with in an interview with Carter Harman in 1964, has faded. A local Jewish family, the Karnofskys, gave young Armstrong a job collecting junk and delivering coal. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Rock Icon KISS Is Saying Goodbye (For Real), Rihanna and 10 Other Great Pregnant Performances, Burt Bacharachs Legacy: 5 Notable Collaborations, 2023 Grammy Awards: Six Winners Who Made History. The lights dim, and the velvet curtains slide open. The material may show why Armstrong was not just a giant of jazz music, but a civil rights leader as well. Then, at the age of five, he was returned to the care of his mother, who at the time worked as a laundress. WebToday, Louis Armstrong holds the title as the worlds greatest jazz player. Perhaps most importantly, the letters also detail Armstrong's fatherly love for Sharon. One of the first many New Orleans style jazz artists is Jelly Roll Morton. Why Is Louis Armstrong Important. He was also a gifted singer, and his 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. He embarked on his first European tour since 1935 in February 1948, and thereafter toured regularly around the world. An all-star virtuoso, he came to prominence in the 1920s, influencing countless musicians with both his daring trumpet style and unique vocals. In 1936, Louis Armstrong became the first African American jazz musician to write an autobiography, Swing That Music. Louis Armstrong recorded many popular songs like La Vie en Rose, and his theme song When its Sleepy Time Down South. 1 slot in May 1964, and knocking the Beatles off the top at the height of Beatlemania. By the summer of 1970, Armstrong was allowed to perform publicly again and play the trumpet. (1964), the latter knocking the Beatles off the top of the pop charts at the height of Beatlemania. In 1967, Armstrong recorded a new ballad, "What a Wonderful World." Who Is Louis Armstrong And Why Is He Important To Jazz Music? By the mid-'40s, the Swing Era was winding down and the era of big bands was almost over. 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. Jelly Roll Morton was a great pianist and arranger from New Orleans., He not only produce one impressive improvised solo after another, but he also raised the bar for jazz vocals. He was a groundbreaking musician and a pioneer in the development of jazz music. Contracted to OKeh Records, he began to make a series of recordings with studio-only groups called the Hot Fives or the Hot Sevens. With his amazing voice trumpet he created a band and made some records. Within a span of three years, Armstrong recorded over sixty records. How did Louis Armstrong influence others? Though his popularity was hitting new highs in the 1950s, and despite breaking down so many barriers for his race and being a hero to the African American community for so many years, Armstrong began losing his standing with two segments of his audience: Modern jazz fans and young African Americans. Another one of Armstrongs notable qualities, scat singing (wordless singing/mummering) was also popularized during this. Why is Louis Armstrong important? - Answers Louis Armstrong: A Cultural Legacy | National Portrait Gallery This gift, coupled with Louis Armstrongs already present affinity for the musical sounds of the local New Orleans street bands and brass players that lingered around, helped to brew the perfect storm that would create one of the most prolific players of the 20th century. LOUIS ARMSTRONG In fact, before marrying his fourth wife, he made sure that she could cook a satisfactory plateful. 1 hit around the world, including in England and South Africa, and eventually became one of Armstrong's most-beloved songs after it was used in the 1986 Robin Williams film Good Morning, Vietnam. When Louis Armstrong was placed in a boys home as a young boy, he was presented with the opportunity to play the cornet. After his time in Colored Waifs Home, he wanted to become a musician. He would attend parades, funerals, churches and go to cheap cabarets to be able to hear some of the greats play, Little Louis sung in a vocal quartet in his early teens. William Armstrong, his father, was a factory worker who abandoned the family soon after the boy's birth.
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