Louis Armstrong


Louis Armstrong is an American jazz legend. Armstrong was born in 1901 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He grew up in a rough section of New Orleans, with little to eat and few clothes to wear. As a boy, Armstrong fell in love with jazz music. He decided to be a musician but had no money to buy an instrument.

When Armstrong was about 12 years old, something happened that changed the direction of his life. On New Year’s Eve, 1913, when Armstrong was celebrating, he fired a gun into the air. An angry police officer arrested him and he was sent to a reform school for boys. Fortunately, the school’s musical director recognized Armstrong’s talent and taught him to sing and play the cornet. After he was released from the boys’ home, he worked as a laborer by day and played with local bands at night. He borrowed a horn until he had money to buy one.

By 1918, Armstrong was playing on riverboats and with good black bands around New Orleans. In 1922, he moved to Chicago to play with the Creole Jazz Band, a legend in jazz circles. In 1923, Armstrong divorced his first wife to marry Lillian Hardin, who recognized his musical talent and encouraged him to develop his career. The next year, they moved to New York and Armstrong joined the Fletcher Henderson Band. His musical talent grew quickly during this time.

In 1925, Armstrong went back to Chicago. Between 1925 and 1928, he recorded the “Hot Five” series of jazz records. Many people think this is the best jazz ever recorded. Armstrong became a role model for many jazz players.

In the early 1930s Armstrong started to travel all over the United States and Europe and soon became one of the most famous men in America. In the 1930s and 1940s, Armstrong played and sang with his own big dance band. He became known as much for his singing as his playing. He also appeared in movies and on the radio.

By 1945, big bands were no longer popular, so Armstrong formed a smaller group called the All Stars. His popularity and his commercial success grew throughout the 1950s and 1960s. His 1964 record, “Hello, Dolly,” and the 1968 song, “What A Wonderful World” both became number one hits.

Armstrong was married two more times, in 1938 to Alpha Smith and in 1942 to Lucille Wilson. He had no children. He died in 1971.