Louie Armstrong
| Louis Armstrong | |
|---|---|
Armstrong in 1953
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| Born |
August 4, 1901 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | July 6, 1971 (aged 69) Corona, Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Other names |
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| Occupation |
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| Spouse(s) |
Daisy Parker (m. 1918; div. 1923) Lil Hardin Armstrong (m. 1924; div. 1938) Alpha Smith (m. 1938; div. 1942) Lucille Wilson (m. 1942; his death 1971) |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1919–1971 |
| Associated acts | |
 Louis Daniel Armstrong talks with Studs Terkel on WFMT ; 1962/6/24, 33:43, Studs Terkel Radio Archive
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Louis Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed Satchmo or Satch, was an American trumpeter, composer, singer and occasional actor who was one of the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades, from the 1920s to the 1960s, and different eras in jazz. Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an "inventive" trumpet and cornet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the focus of the music from collective improvisation to solo performance. With his instantly recognizable gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser, bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes. He was also skilled at scat singing.
Renowned for his charismatic stage presence and voice almost as much as for his trumpet playing, Armstrong's influence extends well beyond jazz, and by the end of his career in the 1960s, he was widely regarded as a profound influence on popular music in general. Armstrong was one of the first truly popular African-American entertainers to "cross over", whose skin color was secondary to his music in an America that was extremely racially divided. He rarely publicly politicized his race, often to the dismay of fellow African Americans, but took a well-publicized stand for desegregation in the Little Rock crisis. His artistry and personality allowed him socially acceptable access to the upper echelons of American society which were highly restricted for black men of his era.
Armstrong often stated that he was born on July 4, 1900, a date that has been noted in many biographies. Although he died in 1971, it was not until the mid-1980s that his true birth date, August 4, 1901, was discovered by the researcher Tad Jones through the examination of baptismal records.
Armstrong was born into a poor family in New Orleans, Louisiana, and was the grandson of slaves. He spent his youth in poverty, in a rough neighborhood known as the Battlefield, which was part of the Storyville legal prostitution district. His father, William Armstrong (1881–1933), abandoned the family when Louis was an infant and took up with another woman. His mother, Mary "Mayann" Albert (1886–1927), then left Louis and his younger sister, Beatrice Armstrong Collins (1903–1987), in the care of his grandmother, Josephine Armstrong, and at times his uncle Isaac. At five, he moved back to live with his mother, her relatives and a parade of "stepfathers".
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