His life story could fill a dozen books, and in fact it has. Armstrong was a charismatic, innovative performer whose inspired, improvised soloing was the main influence for a fundamental change in jazz, shifting its focus from collective melodic playing, often arranged in one way or another, to the solo player and improvised soloing. One of the most famous jazz musicians of the 20th century, he was first known as a cornet player, then as a trumpet player, and toward the end of his career he was best known as a vocalist and became one of the most influential jazz singers.
He rose to fame with his own "Hot Five" group in the 1920s. The nickname "Satchmo" is derived from "Satchelmouth"; incidentally, he was known to his closest friends as "Pops". Movies began to demand his services in 1930.
His earliest film appearances-- notably the Betty Boop cartoon (!) I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You (32)--exemplified the "dangerous," sexually suggestive Armstrong who had become famous in nightclubs and on 78 RPM records. The racial barriers of 1930s Hollywood required Armstrong to smooth out his rough edges and sometimes to come in through the servant's entrance; in 1938's Going Places, for example, he appears as a stableboy, and introduces the lively but comparatively antiseptic ditty "Jeepers Creepers."
Armstrong was serendipitously teamed with Bing Crosby on two memorable occasions: the 1936 musical drama Pennies From Heaven and the 1956 tune-filled remake of Philadelphia Story, High Society. Usually cast as himself (or a thinly disguised facsimile), Louis was given a rare chance to act in the 1943 all-black MGM musical Cabin in the Sky, playing the heavenly emissary "The Trumpeter."
In 1964, Louis Armstrong scored so huge a hit with his recording of the title tune from the Broadway musical Hello Dolly that he was arbitrarily written into the 1969 film version, sharing a few precious on-screen moments with Barbra Streisandand would be the last of his 25 feature-film appearances. In 1967 he made the pop single "What A Wonderful World" which did not do well in America but became a #1 hit on the UK singles chart, making him the oldest male to top the charts in British history at the age of sixty-six years and ten months old. The song was featured in the movie Good Morning Vietnam and became a huge success once again in 1988 reaching #1 on the US and Australian charts.
Louis Armstrong died of a heart attack on July 6, 1971, at age 69, three months after playing a famous show at the Waldorf Astoria's Empire Room. Shortly before his death he stated, "I think I had a beautiful life. I didn't wish for anything that I couldn't get and I got pretty near everything I wanted because I worked for it".
Armstrong was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1972, by the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. This Special Merit Award is presented by vote of the Recording Academy's National Trustees to performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artist significance to the field of recording. Find our more about this jazz icon at: http://www.satchmo.net/
Research info gathered at: www.vh1.com
Visit my ezine: http://www.concelebratory.blogspot.com/
and personal blog: http://www.copyat5.blogspot.com/
He rose to fame with his own "Hot Five" group in the 1920s. The nickname "Satchmo" is derived from "Satchelmouth"; incidentally, he was known to his closest friends as "Pops". Movies began to demand his services in 1930.
His earliest film appearances-- notably the Betty Boop cartoon (!) I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You (32)--exemplified the "dangerous," sexually suggestive Armstrong who had become famous in nightclubs and on 78 RPM records. The racial barriers of 1930s Hollywood required Armstrong to smooth out his rough edges and sometimes to come in through the servant's entrance; in 1938's Going Places, for example, he appears as a stableboy, and introduces the lively but comparatively antiseptic ditty "Jeepers Creepers."
Armstrong was serendipitously teamed with Bing Crosby on two memorable occasions: the 1936 musical drama Pennies From Heaven and the 1956 tune-filled remake of Philadelphia Story, High Society. Usually cast as himself (or a thinly disguised facsimile), Louis was given a rare chance to act in the 1943 all-black MGM musical Cabin in the Sky, playing the heavenly emissary "The Trumpeter."
In 1964, Louis Armstrong scored so huge a hit with his recording of the title tune from the Broadway musical Hello Dolly that he was arbitrarily written into the 1969 film version, sharing a few precious on-screen moments with Barbra Streisandand would be the last of his 25 feature-film appearances. In 1967 he made the pop single "What A Wonderful World" which did not do well in America but became a #1 hit on the UK singles chart, making him the oldest male to top the charts in British history at the age of sixty-six years and ten months old. The song was featured in the movie Good Morning Vietnam and became a huge success once again in 1988 reaching #1 on the US and Australian charts.
Louis Armstrong died of a heart attack on July 6, 1971, at age 69, three months after playing a famous show at the Waldorf Astoria's Empire Room. Shortly before his death he stated, "I think I had a beautiful life. I didn't wish for anything that I couldn't get and I got pretty near everything I wanted because I worked for it".
Armstrong was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1972, by the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. This Special Merit Award is presented by vote of the Recording Academy's National Trustees to performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artist significance to the field of recording. Find our more about this jazz icon at: http://www.satchmo.net/
Research info gathered at: www.vh1.com
Visit my ezine: http://www.concelebratory.blogspot.com/
and personal blog: http://www.copyat5.blogspot.com/
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