Louis Armstrong was one of the legendary instrumentalists who took a step forward to change the way people will sing in future altogether. He is one of the spoken jazz musicians who improvised the concept of solo improv, use of scat singing, and the concept of swing.
Nicknames as Satchmo, Pops, and Ambassador Satch were given to Louis Armstrong throughout his career in jazz music. Louis was a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. Born on August 4, 1991, Armstrong lived in a neighbourhood nicknamed “The Battlefield” due to its condition. He had a rough youth time being raised by his mother alone. His father left the family after Louis was born. Her mother often left Louis with his maternal grandmother to earn money. Louis left the school in fifth grade and started to look for work. A local Jewish family got his a job for delivering coal and also encouraged him to sing. In 1912, young Louis shot his father’s gun in the air to celebrate new year’s eve. He got arrested immediately and was sent to the Colored Waif’s Home for Boys. He received his first musical instruction on the cornet and immediately fell in love with music. He got released from the home in 1914 and started pursuing his career in music.
Music and Albums
Louis Armstrong replaced Oliver in Kid’s Ory’s Band in 1918, that was the most popular band in New Orleans at that time. He could now stop working manual labour jobs and concentrate completely on cornet. In 1922, He received a call from Oliver to come to Chicago and join his Creole Jazz Band, which he accepted. Chicago gave the right audience to Armstrong and his music.
He worked with several artists as a sideman, creating inspirational music, backing blues singers such as Bessie Smith. In 1925, OKeh Records decided to let Armstrong create his own band which they called – Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five. The band created over 60 records from 1925 to 1928. Later the band became Hot Seven. He also began singing in these recordings, popularizing wordless “scat singing.”
Late Career
Armstrong had a gruesome number of tours in the 1950s. He pushed himself to his limits which also had effects on his health. In 1959, he suffered a heart attack while travelling to Spoleto, Italy. But, Armstrong only grew stronger after this and was performing 300 nights a year. In 1964, he released a new record that hit the number one spot in the pop music charts in May 1964. By late 1968, Armstrong’s gruesome lifestyle caught up with his health and forced him to stop performing by 1969. Armstrong spent most of his time at home and practised the trumpet daily. Despite several heart attacks, Armstrong’s spirit to perform never stopped. Armstrong died on his bed in his sleep at his home in Queens, New York, July 6, 1971.