Known as Louis, Satchmo and Pops, Armstrong is one of the Kings of Jazz and credited with allowing jazz to be appreciated for its soloists as well as its group efforts, Louis Armstrong made hits out of old classics which are still enjoyed today.
Armstrong was born to an incredibly poor family on August 4, 1901 in New Orleans. His father abandoned the family when he was a baby and he was raised by his grandmother until he was five years old. It was while attending the Fisk School for Boys that he was first exposed to music, but he dropped out at age 11 and joined a quartet of boys who sang on street corners.
He began frequently night clubs and listening to musicians and learning from musicians, particularly Joe “King” Oliver. When Oliver left his band for a better job in Chicago, Armstrong took over his job and thus began his musical career. He still needed to work day jobs to pay expenses, until 1922 when he was invited to Chicago by Oliver and was able to make a living from being a musician.
At his wife’s urging, Armstrong moved to New York to expand his career and there he was able to pursue other instruments. He learned to play the trumpet and also began experimenting with different ways to play it and even experimenting with other brass instruments. He developed a one man show in which he played, sang and told stories of his childhood in New Orleans.
After this Armstrong’s fame just grew and grew allowing him to become one of the most popular and beloved African-American men in the country. He was given special privileges which, at that time, were not offered to African-Americans even if they were celebrities. Despite his special treatment, Armstrong never actually became involved in the civil rights movement.
His lack of involvement in race relations and willingness to accept the privileges granted him angered many African-Americans who accused him to being an Uncle Tom, which is a derogatory term that implies that a black person has become a traitor to their race. However, Armstrong never paid any mind to these critics and was actually responsible for the resolution of the Little Rock Crisis in which nine African-American students were physically prevented from attending a white school. Armstrong made his dislike for segregation publicly known and also berated President Eisenhower, calling him “two-faced” and “gutless.” This led to Eisenhower personally intervening and the putting an end to the desegregation at that school.
Armstrong died in Queens, New York in 1971 of a heart attack, just one month before his 70th birthday.