THE KING OF JAZZ

LOUIS ARMSTRONG Louis Armstrong was born in 1901, in a poor, black

section of New Orleans called Storyville. It was sodangerous that its nickname was the “Battlefield”.

Louis’ mother, Mayann, had to support her twochildren by herself.

Louis and his sister were often left with theirgrandmother. Her name was Josephine, and shehad been a slave.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG When Louis was about seven, he had a job selling

newspapers on street corners. Later, he went to workfor the Karnofskys. They were a Jewish family that hadcome from Russia.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG When Louis was older, he appeared in Juvenile

Court and was charged with firing a gun in a publicplace. The judge was strict; he sent Louis to live at theColored Waifs’ Home for Boys.

Professor Peter Davis taught him music at the ColoredWaifs’ Home for Boys. Here, Louis learned to playmusic written by famous European composers fromthe past such as Bach, Liszt and Mahler. Louis was sogood that Professor Davis made him leader of theband.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG On June 16, 1914, Louis left the Colored Waifs’ Home

for Boys and went to live with his father. While he waswith his father, he attended school through the fifthgrade. After completing fifth grade, he thought that hewas ready to support himself.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG Louis became a great cornet player. People took notice

of him and the special way that he played music.

On April 6, 1917, something happened that changedthe future of Louis’s life and the lives of many of theother jazz musicians in New Orleans. The UnitedStates entered World War I.

His friend, Joe Oliver, packed his bags and went toChicago.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG Louis began performing on boats that took day trips

from the Port of New Orleans. In 1920, he began to playon the steamer “Dixie Belle”, which took long trips upthe Mississippi River.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG Joe Oliver hadn’t forgotten about Louis, either. He

continued writing from Chicago, urging Louis to joinhim. Finally, in 1922, Louis decided to go to Chicago.

Louis became a cornetist in the King Oliver’s Band.The band was a huge success.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG

Louis performed with the band at the famousRoseland Ballroom on Broadway in New York City. Itwas the first African-American band to perform there.Most of the people who went to Roseland were white,and they went to dance.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG In December 1925, he joined an orchestra that played

background music for silent movies.

Louis was playing cornet for a band leader named Jimmy Taste. Jimmy needed another trumpet player and he asked Louis to switch instruments. Louis agreed and played trumpet for the rest of his life.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG In 1927, Bing Crosby, a famous singer and movie star,

listened to Louis Armstrong’s scat recordings andused scat vocals on his own records.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG Tom Rockwell, Louis’ manager,, helped him get a job

in Harlem, New York, where he performed in a showcalled Hot Chocolates. It was a huge success. Then itmoved to Broadway’s Hudson Theater.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG In 1932 Louis took his first trip to England. When he

arrived, his nickname of “Satchelmouth” wasshortened to “Satchel”.

In 1938, Louis wrote a song called “Jeepers Creepers”for a movie of the same title. In the film, the horse waswild and out of control until Louis sang to it. Louisearned an Academy Award nomination for hisperformance.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG In December, 1941, the United States entered World

War II. Louis went overseas to entertain Americansoldiers. Playing at military bases in Europe and Asia,he helped bring the sound of jazz across the Atlanticand Pacific Oceans.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG

The war ended in 1945. So did the popularity of bigbands. Louis formed a small band called LouisArmstrong and His All Stars.

In 1949, TIME magazine featured a photograph ofLouis on the cover . It pictured him as the “King ofJazz”. He was also crowned king of Mardi Gras in hishometown of New Orleans. The mayor gave him thekeys to the city and he was welcomed as a local hero.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG In 1963, he recorded the popular song “Hello Dolly”. By

1964, it was a smash hit, even more popular than theBeatles song “She Loves You”.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG His 1967 song, “What a Wonderful World”, also

became a hit all over the world. Unfortunately, Louis’shealth was failing and in September of 1968, he had aserious heart attack.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG On July 6, Louis Armstrong died quietly in his sleep

with his wife, Lucille, by his side.

President Richard Nixon called him “a free individualspirit, and an artist of worldwide fame”.

The joy Louis Armstrong felt in playing his trumpetwas strong, constant and unmistakable. He shared thatjoy with listeners. His spirit lives on through jazzmusicians who came after him, and through thebeautiful music he created.

THANK YOU LOUIS, YOUR ARE THE BEST JAZZ MUSICIAN FOREVER AND EVER