Louis Armstrong Biography

Louis Armstrong, one of the most talented virtuosos, who can play different instruments and can sing, was a native from New Orleans, Louisiana. His performance caught the attention of admirers in the 1920s. His remarkable style influenced a lot of musicians. In fact, his never-before trumpet style drew admiration from all over the world. His vocals made him a star and a jazz star with charisma to display on stage.

His famous records ‘What a Wonderful World’, ‘Star Dust’ and La Vie En Rose’ shot him to fame. Even to this date, these songs can be witnessed running in the background of movies and videos. In this Louis Armstrong biography, we will look into his personal life, career, and cause of death.

Who Was Louis Armstrong?

Louis Armstrong was born on 4th August 1901 in a very poor neighbourhood where natives had to fight the battle of survival every day. His birthplace in New Orleans, Louisiana, was so poor and devoid of facilities that it was termed as ‘The Battlefield’ by the natives. He had a very struggling childhood. His father worked in a factory and abandoned his family when Louis was born. His mother was forced to take up prostitution to meet both ends. Louis was kept in the vicinity of his maternal grandmother when his mother had to leave home due to her prostitution.

Armstrong was compelled to leave school and enter the world of hard work in his 5th grade. One of the local families of Jewish origin gave him work to collect junk and deliver coal to specific locations. The family was good to him. The members often invited him and patronized him to sing for them. When everyone was happy in the family, they offered him free meals. His hardship continued and was even arrested for firing his grandfather’s gun on New Year’s Eve in 1912.

Louis Armstrong: His Early Life

While working with the Jewish family, he sang many songs and made everyone happy. He was able to recover two square meals every day from the generous family and helped his mother to meet both ends. He was arrested in 1912 when he was just 11 years old and was sent to a correction facility named Colored Waif’s home for Boys. This incident turned his life upside down.

It was there he found how to play different musical instruments. He was introduced to the magical world of music and discovered his hidden passion. He was released from the correction home after two years in 1914 and let him dream freely to pursue a career in music. The Louis Armstrong family was still struggling when he was in the correction facility. He started to distribute newspapers and even hauled coal in the red light areas.

He started to gain attention while doing this as a young jazz and blues player. It was the mentorship of Joe King Oliver that made him pursue a part-time career in jazz music. Joe was one of the greatest cornet artists of the contemporary era. He gave him pointers on using the horn and eventually used it as a substitute in the team.

Louis Armstrong’s First Marriage

When he was 17, he married Daisy Parker. The marriage did not lead to a peaceful life as it was maligned by heated arguments and violence.

The Louis Armstrong facts also depict that he adopted Clarence, a 3-years old boy. He was the son of his cousin who died while giving birth to Clarence. Clarence was not mentally stable as he suffered a head injury at a very young age. Despite the fact, Louis did not abandon him and took care of him for the rest of his life.

His Career With Fate Marable

During this time, he continued to play and sing on the platform he achieved. In fact, he became the prodigy to replace Oliver in the same band. It was the most popular jazz band back in New Orleans. When he took the position, he did not have to work hours hauling coal and got his image established as a professional jazz cornet player. He started concentrating fully on his jazz career by appearing in dances, marches, and funerals. He was also a part of the musical team of ‘Honky Tonks’, a local platform that hosted musical acts.

The next year went quite well as he played on the riverboats with a jazz band captained by Fate Marable. This brought a remarkable change in the musical life of Louis. He honed many skills under the supervision of the entire team. In fact, he got to team with the top jazz performers back then such as Jack Teagarden and Bix Beiderbecke.

His Big Break With Big Band Jazz

It was Oliver again who called Louis to join him in a bigger and better jazz band. Although he was content while performing in New Orleans, he chose to meet Oliver in 1922 and went to Chicago. He then joined the Creole Jazz Band as the second cornet player. Armstrong got so much attention there in Chicago. He was soon known for his fiery and daring performances on stage with his cornet that he got two breaks playing with Oliver on stage.

As per Louis Armstrong biography, he recorded for the first time on 5th April 1923 with the title name ‘Chimes Blues’. The female pianist in the band named Lillian Hardin fell in love with him. She married her in 1924. His wife tried to make Armstrong understand that Oliver is trying to hold his talent back. She managed to convince her husband to leave Oliver, his mentor, and join the legendary Fletcher Henderson’s Orchestra. This was one of the top African-American dance bands based in New York.

He immediately caught the centre stage with his remarkable musical skills and felt the necessity of entering solos in the act. He also developed the swing music concept. It influenced Henderson and Don Redman, the arranger and they decided to add vocabulary into the act. This transformed Henderson’s band performance to a considerable extent. In fact, Henderson’s band probably became the first big jazz band in the history of America.

The problem appeared when the background of Armstrong did not match with the northern mentality of the rest of the musicians in the team. Henderson also stopped Louis from singing as he did not want to spark any conflict in front of a sophisticated audience. He then left this band in 1925 and returned to Chicago and started playing in his wife’s band named the Dreamland Café.

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Image of Louis Armstrong

His Career in Chicago

He then started to record his solos and band in Okeh Records. The band was named Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five. He recorded over 60 records within a time span of 3 years till 1928. These recordings are considered to be the most important in American Jazz history. In fact, his virtuoso brought a transformation in the band performance of jazz music to a solo level. His excellent solo numbers such as ‘Potato Head Blues’ and ‘Cornet Suey Artist’ literally transformed the way people listened to jazz.  

He also started to sing and was called by the top musicians of that time for collaborative performances. His daring vocals also started making news that changed the shape of popular music in America. In 1932, he was popularly known as Satchmo and was witnessed in movies. The critics gave him racist reviews back then but he did not give up.

He did a long tour through Europe in 1933 but his career fell apart due to his friction with the manager. He returned to Chicago in 1935 with no band and sore lips. Even his wife sued him. He turned to Joe Glaser for help and his career rejuvenated. He acted in major films back then and made history. His grave voice can be heard in ‘What a Wonderful World’ recorded in 1965 with no band music as such in the background that made him immortal.

His Final Years

His lifestyle and fiery singing finally showed the outcome. He started facing kidney and heart problems that stopped him from appearing on the stage in 1969. His friend Joe Glaser died the same year. After a year, he performed again on different international stages. He died on 6th July 1971 in Queens, New York. Louis Armstrong cause of death is still a mystery as he died in his sleep.

He continues to be the legend of jazz that transformed the world of music. His grave voice and fiery performance with the trumpet made him immortal. To this date, his house displays his items, and admirers from all over the world visit to pay tribute to this legend.