American jazz musician (1900-1971). He is considered by many to be the greatest
jazzman ever, thanks to his
astounding technical ability, his
quick musical mind, and the
joy he brought to his
music.
Born in
New Orleans to a very
poor family, Louis (nicknamed "
Satchmo") was sent to
reform school when he was a kid for shooting a
gun in the air on
New Year's Eve. He learned to play the
cornet at reform school, but he didn't have a
horn of his own, so he wasn't able to play after he was released. However, he listened to
bands in
jazz clubs, where
trumpet player
Joe "King" Oliver took Louis under his wing, gave him his first cornet, and gave him
trumpet lessons.
Armstrong played in clubs in
New Orleans,
St. Louis, and finally, playing with Oliver in
Chicago, where his amazing playing made him a
sensation among other Chicago musicians. He recorded some
records for other artists in
New York City, including
Bessie Smith's classic "
St. Louis Blues" in 1925.
He returned to Chicago in
1925 and made his first records under his own name, and his
fame began to grow as those
recordings were released. He returned in
triumph to New Orleans in 1931 and toured
Europe and the
United States.
In 1938, Armstrong put together a band called
Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra, which
toured for ten years and was one of the most
popular acts in America, making Louis one of the most
famous men in America. But as the
1940s came to an end,
trends in jazz were changing, and Armstrong's
concerts were becoming less popular, so the
orchestra was replaced with a small group of
soloists, the
Louis Armstrong All-Stars, who became
extremely popular
worldwide.
He had a
number-one single in 1963 with his version of "
Hello Dolly!", followed a few decades later with another number-one, the infectiously
optimistic "
What a Wonderful World".
Addendum: avalyn sez:
"Allegedly, the July 4, 1900 birthdate he often quoted was conjecture as he didn't actually know his birthdate. His birth certificate shows his date of birth as August 4, 1901. (Or so says the IMDB.)"