ARTSEDGE's Louis Armstrong Biography

Louis Armstrong: The Man, the Musician, the Celebrity

Louis Armstrong--singer, trumpet player, actor, entertainer, icon, public figure. Few have paralleled his pervasive and profound effect on musicians and non-musicians all over the world. This biography is a condensed version of a more comprehensive biography that includes further information about Armstrong and his contribution to music as well as an informative music glossary.

Humble Beginnings

Although it would be fitting for American icon Louis Armstrong to be born on July 4, 1900, the date on which Armstrong claimed he was born, evidence from a baptismal certificate indicates that his true birthday was August 4, 1901.

Armstrong's parents--William Armstrong, a laborer in a turpentine factory, and Mayann Armstrong--often left him alone to wander the streets of New Orleans, singing with neighborhood kids for loose change and searching garbage cans for food. When William left the family and Mayann moved to an area known for prostitution, Armstrong moved in with his grandmother. After a few years, he moved back in with his mother to Storyville, where the many seedy dance halls and honky-tonks provided Armstrong's first experiences with blues music and early ragtime.

New Year's Day 1913 marked a turning point in Armstrong's life. He fired a pistol in the air and was sent to a reform school called the Colored Waif's Home for Boys. This event proved positive for Armstrong in the end, because under the tutelage of the Waif Home's band instructor Peter Davis, he received his first formal music lessons. After short stints with vocal music, percussion, and the bugle, Armstrong eventually settled with the cornet.

In 1914, Armstrong was released from the Waif's Home and--much to his dismay--returned to his old way of life. Having no formal education, he was resigned to accepting various odd jobs like selling papers, unloading boats, and hauling coal in order to feed himself, his mother, and his sister.

A Budding Musician

Determined to become a musician, Armstrong frequented many honky-tonks and dance halls in town, where he met cornetist Joe "King" Oliver of the Kid Ory Band, a then-noted group in New Orleans. Oliver became a pivotal figure in Armstrong's life, taking on various roles as mentor, teacher, and in some respects the father he never had.

In 1918, Armstrong began his short-lived marriage to Daisy Parker, a former prostitute. During this time, his obvious skills started to attract the attention of local musicians. Armstrong began receiving more and more gigs, playing in Zutty Singleton's Trio, The Silver Leaf Band, Papa Celestin's Tuxedo Orchestra, and the Allen Brass Band. When Joe Oliver left for Chicago in 1919, Armstrong took his place in Kid Ory's band. That same year, he joined Fate Marable's riverboat band in St. Louis, where he refined his ability to read music and reproduce songs requested of him.

By 1922, King Oliver had become a well-known and prolific musician in Chicago, and he decided he wanted Armstrong to play second cornet in his Creole Jazz Band. Armstrong readily accepted the invitation: "I felt it was a great break for me even to sit beside a man like Joe Oliver with all his prestige," he wrote in his autobiography Satchmo.

Through his work with the Creole Jazz Band, Armstrong further honed his sense of harmony and developed his ear. He also made his first recordings with the band at the Gennett Studios in Richmond, Indiana. However, Armstrong was an innovative musical genius, and he quickly exhibited his superiority over the other band members.

Armstrong married in 1924 to the Creole Jazz Band's pianist, Lil Hardin, who pressured him to leave the band and join Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra in New York. Although he had to accept a pay cut to join Henderson, Armstrong seized the opportunity to play with the well-known band.

During his period with Henderson's Orchestra, Armstrong's name became synonymous with the finest new 'hot' music of the day. His innovative use of syncopation, particularly in songs like "Shanghai Shuffle," had never been heard before. He also recorded with many blues singers, including Clara Smith and Trixie Smith, and his recording of "St. Louis Blues" with Bessie Smith had become a huge success.

Hot Numbers

In 1925, Armstrong returned to Chicago, switched from the cornet to the trumpet, and recorded his first album as leader of the Hot Five. The recordings Armstrong made with the Hot Five and its successor, the Hot Seven, at Okeh Records were--and still remain--some of the most influential jazz recordings in history. With Armstrong's masterful technique, pieces like "Cornet Chop Suey," "Potato Head Blues," and "West End Blues" helped give rise to the solo as the centerpiece in jazz music.

There was something about Armstrong's trumpet-playing that made it "swing." Perhaps it was the way he played in front of or behind the beat but hardly ever on it. Or the way he constantly altered the placement of accents in his music. Because of these characteristics, Armstrong was considered one of the pioneers of swing music. Although the exact origins of swing remain unclear, there is little dispute that Armstrong was swinging better than anyone else at the time.

Armstrong's vocal genius also became apparent during his recordings with the Hot Five and Hot Seven. On Feb. 26, 1926, Armstrong and his band recorded "Heebie Jeebies." During the recording session, Armstrong supposedly dropped the sheet music and, rather than stopping, Armstrong continued to sing ... but without words. Using vowels and consonants, Armstrong had continued to use his voice to create music in a style that became known as scat singing.

Hailed as having perfect pitch and flawless rhythm, Armstrong could manipulate his voice like he could blow his horn. He was able to transform popular music into works of high art due to his effortless rhythmic innovations, and as a result, many songs that Armstrong covered became even more popular than the original version. His recording of "Mack the Knife" from Kurt Weill's Three Penny Opera was so successful that the original singer Lotte Lenya thanked him for his rendition.

Armstrong's throaty voice has been compared to gravel, iron filings and sandpaper. Contrary to what these descriptions might suggest, Armstrong's voice was not harsh. Rather, due to his easygoing delivery and warm tone, his vocal sound was charged with positive energy and charisma. His style has influenced countless singers--such as Billie Holiday, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis Presley--generations after him.

Ambassador Satch Appears Here, There, and Everywhere

In 1928, Armstrong was hired to play in the orchestra of Fats Waller's Broadway musical Hot Chocolates. The musical was well-received, launching Armstrong's active participation in the theatrical arts.

Meanwhile, phonograph records had started to replace sheet music, and many audiences worldwide could hear the music of Louis Armstrong. His 1929 recording of "Ain't Misbehavin" became the top selling record to date. And for the next couple of years Armstrong played with various musicians, including Carroll Dickerson's Savoy Orchestra, the Sebastian New Cotton Club Orchestra, Clarence Jones's Orchestra, and his own band, Louis Armstrong and his Stompers. He toured throughout the United States and Europe, and was eventually given the name "Ambassador Satch" for international tours that were sponsored by the State Department.

It cannot be argued that Louis Armstrong had become a household name and a worldwide popular success. However, some music critics lambasted Armstrong during this period for lacking the musical inventiveness of his earlier years. His concerts were considered predictable and easily malleable to conform to popular tastes. Many critics believed that after 1929, Armstrong was more of a crowd-pleaser than a musical innovator.

In 1931, Armstrong appears in his first feature film, Ex-Flame, and for the next thirty-seven years, Armstrong could be seen in at least fifteen films, including Pennies from Heaven with Bing Crosby (1936), Everyday's a Holiday with Mae West (1937), and Hello Dolly with Barbara Streisand (1968). In addition, Armstrong portrayed Bottom in the musical Swingin' the Dream, a jazz version of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (1939), and appears in the musical High Society with Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly (1956).

Transitions and Changes

When Armstrong returned to the United States in 1935, he hired the ex-gangster Joe Glaser to be his manager and the Luis Russell Orchestra to be his backup band. Consisting of mainly New Orleans musicians, Armstrong was very comfortable with this band. Known as Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra, the band recorded "Swing That Music," a song that was notorious for the trumpeter's ability to hit forty-two high C's followed by a high E-flat.

Under the management of Joe Glaser, Armstrong's career started to become a commodity. Glaser advised Armstrong to gain as much exposure as possible, and because Glaser believed that touring generates more dependable profits than recording, Armstrong began exhaustive worldwide tours consisting of around 300 dates per year and was limited to only two or three days in the studio.

In 1938, Armstrong divorces Lil Hardin and marries Alpha Smith shortly thereafter. His marriage to Alpha lasts three years, and in 1942 Armstrong marries for the fourth time-this time to Lucille Wilson, who will remain his wife for the rest of his life.
The International Star and His All Stars
By the 1940s, swing bands were losing their popularity and Armstrong was growing tired of leading a large group. In 1947, Armstrong joined a small band and formed the Louis Armstrong All Stars, which became one of the most well-known jazz outfits in history.
Armstrong's All Stars performed relentlessly all over the world in clubs, festivals, and concert halls. No matter where they performed, they were followed by admiring audiences. Armstrong made appearances at the Nice Jazz Festival, the first international jazz festival, and in Africa, where he was greeted and hailed by thousands.
An international celebrity, Armstrong's face and his music became ubiquitous. He made appearances in the musical High Society and on television shows such as Johnny Carson's Tonight Show and the Ed Sullivan Show. He collaborated with the Oscar Peterson trio and with singers Bing Crosby, Louis Jordan, and Ella Fitzgerald. He toured with Benny Goodman; recorded the still widely-acclaimed Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy and Satch Plays Fats; and published his second autobiography, Satchmo: A Musical Authobiography. The list goes on and on.
Louis Armstrong's world-renowned success cannot be attributed solely to his singing and trumpet playing ability. His jovial, down-to-earth persona, infectious smile, and optimistic attitude made him a formidable presence both on and off the stage.
His unique personality was accentuated by his inventive use of language. Not always able to recall people's names, almost anyone he talks to becomes "Pops" or "Daddy." And he is often credited for coining such pop culture slang as "cats," "groovy," and "home boy."

With Fame and Praise Comes Criticism

For all of his success and musical acumen, Armstrong was often criticized for his wacky behavior on and off the stage. Some of his contemporaries, including Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie, accused him of fitting into the African-American stereotype of a pandering "Uncle Tom," claiming that he had become merely an entertainer for white audiences. But contrary to what his critics believed, Armstrong was deeply incensed by racial discrimination and often voiced his disapproval.

Despite his widespread popularity, Armstrong was not excluded from the racism and prejudices that were pervasive during his career: he was occasionally threatened, and at one time, dynamite was thrown at a theater where he was performing. In New Orleans, the Jim Crow laws were still being exercised after they were ruled illegal so, in protest, Armstrong refused to return to his hometown for quite some time.

Even though Armstrong's audience was often segregated into black and white sections, he continued to give integrated performances, singing duets with Jack Teagarden and playing with Bix Beiderbecke, both Caucasian musicians. He was the first prominent African-American celebrity of international acclaim and the first jazz musician to tour Africa extensively. In 1957, Armstrong cancelled his tour in Russia to speak out against President Eisenhower and the way desegregation was handled in a school in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Swingin' Until the End

In 1959, Armstrong was briefly hospitalized due to a heart attack. By now, his health was starting to deteriorate, and his continual problems with his weakened lips forced him to concentrate more on singing than blowing his horn. But despite these setbacks, his love of entertaining kept Armstrong on the road, in the studio, and behind the camera.

For the next few years, Armstrong toured Eastern Europe, Canada, and Las Vegas, performed annually at the Newport Jazz Festival, and gave a concert for President John F. Kennedy. During this period, he recorded with Duke Ellington, and his 1964 hit "Hello Dolly" reached the top of the charts in the United States and England, effectively replacing the Beatles in the number one spot. In the United Kingdom, his recording of "What a Wonderful World" also rose to the top of the charts.

When Armstrong's ailing health became more of a reality, the Louis Armstrong All Stars were forced to disband. In 1969 he was hospitalized for three months due to heart problems, and two years later after his final recording, "The Night Before Christmas," the most celebrated jazz musician of the day died in his sleep in Queens, New York.

Armstrong's funeral attracted over 25,000 mourners. His death made headline news in almost every paper across the world, and his pall bearers included such celebrated names as Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Guy Lombardo, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, and Johnny Carson, among many other entertainers, musicians, and politicians.