Image of Louis Armstrong with his trumpet

Shutterstock.com (background; music notes); Bettmann Archive/Getty Images (Armstrong); all illustrations by Berat Pekmezci

Louis Armstrong

His unique style changed the course of American music.

As You Read, Think About: What are some challenges Armstrong had to overcome?

An illustrated explosion. Text reads, History makers.

In May 1913, a group of young musicians paraded through the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana. A crowd watched as 11-year-old Louis Armstrong proudly led the band. 

He was just getting started on a journey that would lead him to become one of the most musicians of all time.

Early Challenges

Born on August 4, 1901, Armstrong had a difficult childhood. His neighborhood was so dangerous, it was called the Battlefield. And his family didn’t have much money.

“He grew up without any shoes on his feet,” says Ricky Riccardi. He works at the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona, New York. “He sometimes didn’t know where his next meal was coming from.” 

To help support his family, Armstrong took jobs selling newspapers and collecting junk. He left school in the fifth grade. 

But Armstrong’s dream was to make music. He was living in the right place at the right time. In the early 1900s, a new style of music was born in New Orleans: jazz. Armstrong was surrounded by the sounds of jazz coming from local clubs. He taught himself to play the basic notes on the cornet, an instrument that’s similar to a trumpet. When he was 10, Armstrong and three friends would sing on the streets of New Orleans. People dropped coins in a hat for the boys.

“Early on, the seeds were planted that music might be his way out,” Riccardi says. 

Black & white photo of Louis Armstrong. Text, "The Amazing Life of Louis Armstrong"
From his trumpet solos to his scat singing, Armstrong’s influence on jazz is still felt today.

Finding Success

Armstrong’s life would change forever after he got into trouble on New Year’s Eve in 1912. He was sent to live in a home for troubled boys. There he got his first real musical training, including how to properly play the cornet. 

“Once he had a cornet in his hands, it was almost like it had magic powers,” says Riccardi.

Armstrong practiced morning, noon, and night. Before long, he was one of the best-known horn players in New Orleans. He later moved on to play in popular jazz bands in Chicago, Illinois, and New York City.

Armstrong and his bands made dozens of records from 1925 to 1928. They are considered some of the most important jazz recordings ever made.

Black & white photo of Louis Armstrong playing trumpet with kids watching

Bentley Archive/Popperfoto via Getty Images

Armstrong makes music with kids in his New York City neighborhood in 1970.

His Music Lives On

Armstrong’s unique style took the world by storm. Instead of playing music exactly as it’s written, jazz musicians often . Armstrong was one of the best at it. He’d layer in bursts of scat singing, using his deep voice to make sounds like an instrument. Riccardi and other experts say his impact can still be heard in the music of today—from rock to hip-hop.

Armstrong continued to perform for decades. He was one of the world’s most-beloved entertainers when he died in 1971.

“In the end, he said all of his boyhood dreams had come true,” Riccardi says.

Making Music

Here’s a look at Louis Armstrong’s musical beginnings.

Illustration of a young Louis Armstrong playing trumpet on the back of a truck

When he was 7, Armstrong worked for a local junkyard. He’d blow into a tin horn to announce the arrival of the junk wagon.

Illustration of Louis Armstrong buying his trumpet

He borrowed $5 to buy a used cornet. It took him weeks to pay back the money, but it was worth it. He practiced all the time, teaching himself the basics of how to play. 

Illustration of Louis Armstrong practicing trumpet when he was younger

He became the leader of the band at a home for troubled boys.

Illustration of a Creole Jazz Band performing on stage while audience dances

By the time he was 17, Armstrong was the lead cornet player in the most popular band in New Orleans, Kid Ory’s Creole Jazz Band. 

1. What evidence does the article give to show that Armstrong had a difficult childhood?

2. In the article, Ricky Riccardi states that “the seeds were planted that music might be [Armstrong’s] way out.” What does Riccardi mean?

3. How did Armstrong’s life change after he got in trouble on New Year’s Eve in 1912?

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influential

adjective

having the power to shape how people act or how events occur

 

As an influential leader of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. helped Black Americans in their quest for equal rights.

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improvise

verb

to make up something in the moment, without planning

 

The dance instructor encourages her students to improvise during class.

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Black & white photo of Louis Armstrong. Text, "The Amazing Life of Louis Armstrong"
Slideshow: The Amazing Life of Louis Armstrong

From his trumpet solos to his scat singing, Armstrong’s influence on jazz is still felt today.

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