Louis Armstrong Biography

Louis Daniel Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901, in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, to William Armstrong, a factory worker, and Mary Albert. His family was very poor. His father abandoned the family when Louis was young. His mother often had to resort to prostitution to provide for the family.

He had to drop out of school in order to work and augment his mother’s meager income. He started singing on the streets for money and also began working for a Jewish family, the Karnofskys, who treated young Louis as a family member and appreciated his musical skills.

In 1912, he fired his step-father’s gun in the air during the New Year’s Eve celebration for which he was arrested and sent to the ‘Colored Waif's Home for Boys.’ There, he received musical instruction and realized that he had a natural talent for playing the cornet. By 1914, when he was released from home, he had realized that his life’s calling was to make music.

After being released from the ‘Colored Waif's Home for Boys,’ he started taking music more seriously and began playing with a number of bands. He also studied music under experienced musicians, such as Buddy Petit, Kid Ory, and Joe "King" Oliver. By the late 1960s, he had become a popular jazz music player in New Orleans.

In 1922, he moved to Chicago and joined his mentor Joe Oliver’s ‘Creole Jazz Band.’ Chicago was thriving at that time and offered much scope for entertainers, especially musicians. Soon, Armstrong became very famous and successful and garnered a huge fan following.

Looking for better career prospects, he left Oliver’s band in 1924 and joined the ‘Fletcher Henderson Orchestra,’ the top African-American dance band in New York City. He proved to be a successful player and soon transformed Henderson’s band into what is today regarded as the ‘first jazz big band.’

America suffered from ‘The Great Depression’ during the late 1920s, and Armstrong’s hitherto thriving career suffered a setback. The depression caused several of the prominent clubs to shut down. Many of his fellow musicians switched to other professions to make a living.

He moved to Los Angeles in 1930 and played at the ‘New Cotton Club.’ The club was often visited by Hollywood personalities, and celebrities like Bing Crosby were regulars at the club. However, Armstrong did not stay there for long and returned to Chicago in 1931.

He traveled a lot during the 1930s and visited countries like Britain, Denmark, France, Scandinavia, and Holland where he performed at concerts. His popularity reached newer heights during the late-1930s.

He also ventured into films and played a band leader in the motion picture ‘Pennies from Heaven’ alongside Bing Crosby in 1936, becoming the first African-American to be billed in a major Hollywood movie. In the ensuing years, he went on to appear in several other movies alongside major Hollywood stars.

He continued performing and recording throughout the 1940s and 1950s, releasing a string of super hits like ‘Blueberry Hill,’ ‘That Lucky Old Sun,’ ‘La Vie En Rose,’ and ‘I Get Ideas.’ During the mid-1950s, his popularity skyrocketed and he embarked on world tours, visiting several countries and performing in front of sold-out crowds in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

His 1954 studio release ‘Louis Armstrong Plays W. C. Handy’ is considered to be one of his masterpieces. Featuring timeless hits like ‘St. Louis Blues,’ ‘Yellow Dog Blues,’ ‘Loveless Love,’ and ‘Aunt Hagar's Blues,’ the album is described by ‘Allmusic’ as "essential music for all serious jazz collections."

Armstrong’s 1967 single ‘What a Wonderful World’ is an iconic song. At the time of its release, it peaked at No.1 in Austria and the UK. It also reached the top ten positions in several other countries like Denmark, Belgium, Ireland, and Norway.

Louis Armstrong was posthumously awarded the ‘Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award’ in 1972 by the ‘Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.’

He was inducted into the ‘Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame’ in 2017.

He was married four times. His first marriage was with a former prostitute named Daisy Parker in 1919. The marriage was tumultuous from the very beginning and soon ended in a divorce. He had adopted a young boy named Clarence over the course of this marriage.

He married Lil Hardin in 1924. His second wife played a major role in shaping Armstrong’s career, but the two drifted apart in the late 1920s and got divorced years later.

His third marriage was with Alpha Smith. This marriage lasted four years before ending in a divorce.

His fourth and final marriage was with a singer named Lucille Wilson, to whom he was married until his death in 1971.

A prolific musician, he led a very hectic life, often performing up to 300 concerts a year. His lifestyle began taking its toll on his health during the late-1960s and he started suffering from kidney and heart ailments. His health declined steadily in 1970, and he died in his sleep on July 6, 1971, at his home in Queens, New York.

In 2012, a woman named Sharon Preston claimed that she was his biological daughter. She claimed that she was born from an affair that he had with a dancer named Lucille Preston in the 1950s. Armstrong’s personal letters from the 1950s confirmed the fact that he had paid for her upbringing.

Louis Armstrong was an avid fan of Swiss Kriss herbal laxatives and swore by their effectiveness in keeping him healthy on tour.

He had a pet mongoose named General that he often brought on tour with him.

Armstrong was a talented artist and enjoyed painting in his spare time, often giving his artwork as gifts to friends and family.