Louis Armstrong

15,799,793 plays (1,204,130 listeners)

Shop now at Amazon | Send Louis Armstrong Ringtones to Cell
Buy
Add to my Library

New Orleans, United States (1901 – 1971)

Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) was a trumpet player, singer, and bandleader, and is widely regarded as one of the most influential artists in the history of jazz.

Armstrong was born and brought up in New Orleans, a culturally diverse town with a unique musical mix of creole, ragtime, marching bands, and blues. Although from an early age he was able to play music professionally, he didn’t travel far from New Orleans until 1922, when he went to Chicago to join his mentor, King Oliver. Oliver’s band played primitive jazz, a hotter style of ragtime, with looser rhythms and more improvisation, and Armstrong’s role was mostly backing. Slow to promote himself, he was eventually persuaded by his wife Lil Hardin to leave Oliver, and In 1924 he went to New York to join the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. At the time, there were a few other artists using the rhythmic innovations of the New Orleans style, but none did it with the energy and brilliance of Armstrong, and he quickly became a sensation among New York musicians. Back in Chicago in 1925, he made his first recordings with his own group, Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five, and these became not only popular hits but also models for the first generation of jazz musicians, trumpeters or otherwise.

Other hits followed through the twenties and thirties, as well as troubles: crooked managers, lip injuries, mob entanglements, failed big-band ventures. As jazz styles changed, though, musical purists never lost any respect for him — although they were sometimes irritated by his hammy onstage persona.

Popular tags: , , , ,  See more

Share this artist:

Top Albums

  • That Rhythm Man
    Louis Armstrong Play
    Buy

    New

  • Body and Soul
    Louis Armstrong Play
    Buy

    New

  • The Ultimate Collection
    Louis Armstrong Play
    Buy
  • All Time Greatest Hits
    Louis Armstrong Play
    Buy
See more

Top Tracks

1
5,040
2
2,065
3
1,146
4
1,001
5
914
6
828
7
648
8
543
9
524
10
437
11
415
12
403
13
400
14
399
15
345
Buy all tracks at Amazon MP3
See more

Shoutbox

Leave a comment. Log in to Last.fm or sign up (it’s free).
See all 594 shouts

Videos

See more

Listening Now

Top Listeners

See more

More Information

Links
Labels

Email Newsletter

Universal Music Group Get exclusive tour, release & promotion updates on Louis Armstrong from Universal Music.