One man, Daniel Louis Armstrong, gave many people from 1901 to 1971 the gift of music. His life was full of what he loved, and he had opportunities in music that nobody would think of doing at the time. Louis Armstrong had a style all his own. People from all backgrounds and colors loved him. It did not matter where a person came from or what language they spoke, people would come just to hear him play and sing. Armstrong knew how to please a crowd with what he had, and he always performed the best he could. He was given opportunities that took him far in his career as a trumpet player.
He left from New Orleans to Chicago in the year 1922. He arrived at the Chicago train station at about eleven o’clock at night.1 While in Chicago, Louis Armstrong went through many social situations that occurred in his time there. He went through the time of Prohibition, which gave rise to the illicit social environment in which jazz—and his career—flourished.2 This brought on challenges for any jazz player in Chicago during the time because of what was going on in the world. Many of those that would hire jazz players were hoodlums or quasi-hoodlums.3
Louis Armstrong was just getting used to being in Chicago, where he could do anything with his music because he had those opportunities. It took him time to embrace the Windy City fully because for Louis, this was unknown territory for him. Louis had taken their music out of its infancy and given it a powerful breath of new life and independence.4 He flourished in his style of jazz and created something much further than anyone could have thought. He could take any song and make it his own. His whole life he had a love for music, but during this time in Chicago he really started to show what he could do. After some time away from Chicago, he would come back as a solo act at the Regal Theater.5 Even though he had left Chicago for a time, he would always come back to experience the great joy that had brought him there in the first place.
He would do great things by himself, even though he always kept in contact with people he had played with before. He took time to be with his friends and family, playing whether it would be by himself or with bands that were with friends that he had made along the way. He accomplished many things in his lifetime, becoming one of America’s legendary musicians. He was very passionate about his music and he loved to please a crowd. He had a great life filled with many people that praised and loved him, helping him on his journey of being an amazing player.
- Laurence Bergreen, Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life (New York: Broadway Books, 1997), 175. ↵
- Bergreen, Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life, 194. ↵
- Bergreen, Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life, 195. ↵
- Bergreen, Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life, 200. ↵
- Terry Teachout, POPS: A Life of Louis Armstrong (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009), 132. ↵
59 comments
Alyssa Childs
Music has always been a huge part in my life and I am extremely thankful for people like Louis Armstrong for carrying music into this century. Music is like a therapy in my eyes because of the many genres it has. Movies would be less interesting if it wasn’t for music. Without music our lives would be more bland in my opinion. Jazz in particular is an amazing genre because it can take any other genre and make it into Jazz.
Brandon Martinez
Louis Armstrong is a music legend. Myself being a music minor and have been in band for many years i’ve learned who Louis was, but only by the music he made and not his story. He had courage to leave his life and go to Chicago in order to pursue music. This article shares that he was just a musician trying to make himself famous playing an making music. Louis was able to play like no other and make his own music that was unique. Being able to overcome obstacles socially and physically is hard by itself, but also becoming famous for music is hard. Not just anyone can play and become and icon. This article is very interesting and tells the story of another icon in the history of music and the article is very entertaining telling the struggles that Louis faced.
Natalia Carroll-Long
I really like this article because every since my elementary days, I’ve thought of Louis Armstrong as a symbol of peace and I’m glad that I wasn’t wrong. It’s amazing to know that people disregarded their backgrounds just to come together to listen to him play. This was a great article. I’ve always loved jazz music so this article really hits home for me and shows the power of music.
Christopher Sanchez
Reading this article gave me a better understanding who Louis Armstrong was. There is a time and place for everything and he was in the right place and time. When he arrived in Chicago during the Prohibition era, jazz and his career flourished. I didn’t expect Louis Armstrong to bring people with different backgrounds together. It amazes me that his music made people put down their differences and come together. This shows that music does bring people together no matter who you are.
Kayla Lopez
My grandfather has always been a fan of Louis Armstrong. It was interesting to find out that he was originally from New Orleans because I always thought her was born and raised in Chicago. It’s sad to know that most of the people that would hire jazz players were considered to be hoodlums. This was a short and sweet article that I really enjoyed reading.
Carlos Aparicio
Louis Armstrong was a one of a kind singer because nobody could make music the way he did. This article explains why he went to Chicago in a very descriptive note. At that time, it was very difficult for colored people to have the respect of every race. One important messages that I grabbed from this article was that music has the power to bring everyone together.
Mariet Loredo
This was a very well written article. I really learned the basics about Louis Armstrong. I have never been a really big jazz fan but once in a while I will listen to it, now I can go listen to some of Armstrong’s music. Having to move to a different city to pursue your dream must be difficult, especially if you have no clue what they city has to offer you. I am impressed that Louis Armstrong was able to face his struggles and achieve his goals.
Crystalrose Quintero
Immediately capturing was the photo of Armstrong. It prompted me to want to read the rest of the article. The first sentence really took the idea of telling a story. It didn’t just open up with a fact but instead, gave a poetic tone and set the mood for the rest of the article. Throughout the article, the authors tone was clearly present. It didn’t give monotone-like facts. It really had its own opinions in the article overall.
Karina Nanez
How interesting that Louis went from New Orleans to Chicago when he was only 21, something most people would be terrified to do. But he went and made a name for himself in Jazz regardless of all the social stigma that came with it and now he is considered if not a father of the genre a major influence in it.
Natalia Zuniga
Great job!I can tell you took a lot of time and did a lot of research for this article! I had heard and but never really knew much about Louis Armstrong, so it was great to understand him better. The photo of the Louis Armstrong was great and caught my attention, as well as your photo of Louis Armstrong playing his trumpet was great. Overall great article!