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Louis Armstrong Essay

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Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 4, 1901 to Mayanne and William Armstrong. His father abandoned his family during Louis' infancy. Louis spent the first years of his life with his grandmother, Josephine Armstrong. After age five, Louis moved back with his mother and his sister, "Mama Lucy." The family was forced to live in stark poverty. Louis got into some trouble when he was just 12 years old and was placed in the Waif's Home for Boys. It was there that he first received musical instruction and learned to play the coronet. He was released from the Waif's Home in June of 1914. He worked selling papers, unloading boats, and selling coal from a cart. Joe Oliver, one of the finest …show more content…

The band never played live, but continued recorded until 1928. While working at the Sunset, Louis met his future manager Joe Glasner. Glasner managed the Sunset at the same time. Armstrong continued to play in Carrol Dickeson's Orchestra until 1929. He also lead his own band on them same venue under the name of Louis Armstrong and his Strompers. For the next two years Armstrong played with Carroll Dickerson's Savory Orchestra and with Clarence Jones' Orchestra in Chicago. By 1929 Louis Armstrong was becoming a very big star. He toured with the show "Hot Chocolates" and appeared occasionally with Luis Russell Orchestra, with Dave Peyton, and with the Fletcher Henderson. Armstrong moved to Los Angeles in 1930 and where he fronted a band called Louis Armstrong and his Sebastian New Cotton Club Orchestra. In 1931, he returned to Chicago ad assembled his own band for touring purposes. In June of that year he returned to New Orleans for the first time since he had left in 1922 to join King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band. Armstrong was greeted as a hero, but racism mared his return when a white radio announcer refused to announce Armstrong on the air and a free concert that Louis was going to give to the city's African American population was cancelled at the last minute. Louis and Lil separated in 1931 also. In 1932 he returned to California, before leaving for England where he was a great success. Armstrong toured the United States, England,

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