Louis Armstrong – an Artist Who Transformed Music

“There is two kinds of music, the good, and the bad, I play the good kind.”

~ Louis Armstrong

One of the arts that transcend culture is the art of music. Louis Armstrong was an individual who took the art of music, specifically jazz, and transformed it.

Louis Armstrong was born in August of 1901, to Maryann and Willie Armstrong. Louis’s dad left his mom a few days after he was born, leaving the family with no means of income and in dire poverty. Because of the lack of job opportunities for poor black women, Maryann Armstrong had no other choice but to become a prostitute to provide some sort of income for her family. In doing this she developed many carefree habits leaving Louis and his sister Beatrice, who was born two years after her brother, to the care of the grandmother Josephine Armstrong. Louis grandmother was a strong disciplinary figure, sent her grandchildren to school and instilled in them proper morals. Louis was raised in Black Storyville, New Orleans, which was well known for its night life and its violence. Right in middle of it all was Jane Alley Street, where the Armstrong’s resided. To make meets end Louis began working many different kinds of jobs, like running errands for prostitutes and selling newspapers. Even though he worked tirelessly to make a living Armstrong’s family was still very poor and lacked the essentials needed to live. His childhood was so unbearably difficult and full of many struggles he soon found an escape in music. He often walked the streets at night and listened to jazz bands play and got lost in the music. When Louis was ten he joined a quartet, who sang for pennies. This lasted for about three years but did not provide the incomes his family needed so he began to hustle adults for money and pick pockets. These acts began to put Louis on a path that led nowhere good. Louis was soon arrested on New Year’s Eve for attempting to fire a pistol. He was hauled off to a juvenile center where he spent a year and a half of his life. The Colored Waif’s Home is the place where it really all began for Armstrong. There he learned how to play his beloved cornet. Louis spent hours upon hours perfecting his skills and learning new ones. When he got out of the home he began playing at bars and honky-tonks and his name soon became well known.

In 1922, King Oliver, a leading musician, asked Armstrong to move up to Chicago and play second cornet in his band. He accepted the offer and was paid $52 a week. He played in the Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band for many months but began to grow tired of there same old styles of jazz and Dixieland. While playing in the band Louis fell in love with the pianist, Lilan Hardin, and they were married in 1924. Soon after they were married Armstrong’s wife encouraged him to quite the band, seek further fame and develop more as a musician. So, he did just that. He headed off for New York, there he played in many bands only to move back to Chicago where most all of his great works were created. These musical masterpieces included hits like, “Wild Man Blues,” “Struttin with some Barbeque,” “Hot than That,” and the famous “West End Blues.” At this point in his musical career Louis moved from the cornet to the trumpet. His technique was unique as unique could be and his talent was beyond anything that people had seen before. He was a musical genius who had a passion for what he was playing. Louis’s stardom shot up in 1929, when he moved back to New York City, he played in the theatre. Then he went on to tour America and Europe as a trumpet soloist. While touring he began to ignore the often-used blues-based materials and put his own spins on it. He took songs like “Irving Berlin” and “Duke Ellington” and added his own style to them.

In 1929, Louis went on to Broadway, there he played one of the leading roles in the production of Connie’s Hot Chocolates. That year he also recorded with he also recorded with many small, New Orleans influenced bands (those including the Hot Five). He also recorded many popular songs of the day including “Body and Soul”, “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love”, and “Star Dust”. Louis’s unique vocals took these songs to new levels. He completely transformed the concept of good vocalization in America, evident by singers like Frank Sinatra, Bing Cosby, and Ella Fitzgerald.

In 1967, many years down the road, Armstrong recorded his famous ballad,” What A Wonderful World,” which did not feature his trumpet or any iconic jazz styles but instead Armstrong’s soothing, unique voice sing behind the music of many strings. This song became a hit around the world and became one of his most beloved songs. Sadly, Louis Armstrong passed away of kidney and hearts problems in 1968, but even towards the end Armstrong picked up his trumpet daily.

Louis Armstrong was an amazing man who took the art of music and changed it forever. Armstrong grew up in unspeakable poverty and lived a very hard life as a young man, yet he never gave up on his dream to become a musician and went on to become one of the greatest performers of all time.

Works Cited

• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopedia. “Louis Armstrong.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 19 Feb. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-Armstrong.
• “Louis Armstrong.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 27 Jan. 2019, www.biography.com/people/louis-armstrong-9188912.
• Tanhaus, Sam. Louis Armstrong Musician. Chelesa House Publishers, 1989.