The first important trend in New York Jazz was Hot Jazz that was an incendiary style introduced by Louis Armstrong (Winfield 170). Dancers loved Hendersons music making Louis Armstrong a celebrity so when he left his old band, this would be a step up. The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic, American actress, singer, director, producer. Louis Armstrong, also known as the king of jazz was born on Augest 4th, 1901, in New Orleans Louisiana; he died July 6, 1971 in Corona Queens New York. Between the two, Armstrong has been the more unsullied figure in historical treatments and biographies. He returned to Chicago in the spring of 1932 to front a band led by Zilner Randolph; the group toured around the country. However, conditions changed when he was requested to record the title number of a broadway show that went on to become a hit. He attended Colored Waifs Home in 1913 for eighteen months. 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. In 1947, the waning popularity of the big bands forced Armstrong to begin fronting a small group, Louis Armstrong and His All Stars. "What a Wonderful World" peaked on the U.S. music charts after Armstrong passed away. No ones quite sure why Armstrong lied about his age, but the most popular theories maintain he wanted to join a military band or that he figured he'd have a better shot at landing gigs if he was over 18 years old. West End Blues by Louis Armstrong is one of the most important songs in jazz. 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. Shortly thereafter, Armstrong bragged about the child to his manager, Joe Glaser, in a letter that would later be published in the book Louis Armstrong In His Own Words (1999). He was an all-star virtuoso, and came to prominence in the 1920s playing cornet and trumpet with an excitingly new and improvisational style. After being released at age fourteen, he worked selling papers, unloading boats, and selling coal from a cart. Armstrong was still a popular attraction around the world in 1963, but hadn't made a record in two years. In 16967, Armstrong recorded his most renowned tune, What a Wonderful Word that surprisingly featured no trumpet. His influence, both as an artist and 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.". All Rights Reserved. He was released on June 16, 1914, and did manual labor while trying to establish himself as a musician. 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. WebLouis Armstrong was the most important and influential musician in jazz history. If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know. Mob bosses from New York City and Chicago threatened Louis Armstrong in attempts to control his management contract. Louis Daniel (Louie) Armstrong is perhaps the most important and influential person in the history of jazz music, swing music, and jazz vocal styling. His charismatic stage presence impressed not only the jazz world but all of popular music. The brilliance of his playing, the warmth of his vocals, and his integrity as a human being simply inspires me. He also played as a second trumpet for King Oliver. He also took a series of small parts in motion pictures, beginning with Pennies from Heaven in December 1936, and he continued to record for Decca, resulting in the Top Ten hits "Public Melody Number One" (August 1937), "When the Saints Go Marching In" (April 1939), and "You Won't Be Satisfied (Until You Break My Heart)" (April 1946), the last a duet with Ella Fitzgerald. But you get sick just like the next cat and when you die you're just as graveyard dead as he is. His career spanned many decades, from the 1920s to his death in 1971, and many different eras in jazz. Though Armstrong was content to remain in New Orleans, in the summer of 1922, he received a call from Oliver to come to Chicago and join his Creole Jazz Band on second cornet. Armstrong used to say that hed been born on July 4, 1900. Career highlights, compiled by the Louis Armstrong House Museum: His mother, Mayann, was 15 years old when he was born and his father, Willie, abandoned them soon after. At the mention jazz music, that person will first think of is likely to be a great figure with a clown image, nicknamed Satchmo. His notoriety for being the best jazz player of his time was secured as Armstrong's arrangement of swing and melodic development opened out and changed Henderson's band and in addition jazz overall. Wiki User. 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! 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. 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. He performed all over the world in the 1950s and '60s, including throughout Europe, Africa and Asia. (She was the second of his four wives.) 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. Since his death, Armstrong's stature has only continued to grow. His amazing technical abilities, the joy and spontaneity, and amazingly quick, inventive musical mind still dominate Jazz to this day. 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. WebLouis Armstrong is arguably the most important musician that the United States has ever produced (Shipton 160). What a Wonderful World struck a chord with moviegoers and was re-released that year, becoming an oft-requested radio hit. He found that the only way to reap the benefits of success and be protected was if there was a white captain to back you in the old days (Armstrong). Previously, Armstrong had performed throughout Europe, Asia, and Africathough he famously canceled a planned 1957 Soviet Union tour, citing the recent Little Rock crisis. He is a husky singer, often with a trumpet in his hand. He was often left with his grandmother, and left school in fifth grade to start working. There, under the tutelage of Peter Davis, he learned how to properly play the cornet, eventually becoming the leader of the Waifs Home Brass Band. To many young jazz listeners at the time, Armstrong's ever-smiling demeanor seemed like it was from a bygone era, and the trumpeter's refusal to comment on politics for many years only furthered perceptions that he was out of touch. This is where Armstrong first fell in love with music; he would listen to people playing any chance that he would get(Tirro). Why Is Louis Armstrong Important. After his time in Colored Waifs Home, he wanted to become a musician. The year 1956 saw Louisiana prohibit integrated bands. However, conditions changed when he was requested to record the title number of a broadway show that went on to become a hit. Also in 1936, Louis Armstrong became the first African American to get featured billing in a major Hollywood movie with his turn in. 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. He performed in Europe for the first time in 1932 and returned in 1933, staying for over a year because of a damaged lip. 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. Their marriage was not a happy one, however, and they divorced in 1942. Born, August 4, 1901 he started off in a harder life than most people usually do. Finding Yourself, Dropping, Halfway. Louis Armstrong is one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. If the gun was not so easily accessible, his firing it and being arrested could have been prevented. By the '50s, Armstrong was widely recognized, even traveling the globe for the US. WebLouis Armstrong is arguably the most important musician that the United States has ever produced (Shipton 160). The boy's mother, Armstrong's cousin, had died in childbirth. It won him a Grammy for best vocal performance. Louis Armstrong is arguably the most important musician that the United States has ever produced (Shipton 160). Love, baby - love. 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. Released from the Waifs Home in 1914, Armstrong set his sights on becoming a professional musician. They danced to the jazz music with a whole new style. In April, he reached the charts with his first vocal recording, "Big Butter and Egg Man," a duet with May Alix. Jazz was born there and I remember when it was no crime for cats of any color to get together and blow. Nine years later, after this ban had finally lifted, he again took the stage in New Orleans on October 31, 1965. 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. Nobody did what Louis could do. 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. (Biography.com), Many people knew Louis Armstrong as the first real genius of jazz(Shipton 26). To grasp how much the man adored this entre, consider that he often signed his personal letters with Red Beans and Ricely Yours.. he put his soul and dedicated his life to his music. He was a groundbreaking musician and a pioneer in the development of jazz music. 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.