Biography Of Louis Armstrong, The Jazz Genius

What do you know about Louis Armstrong’s biography? Today, we want to expose some details about the life of this very talented musician, remembered until today for his genius.

One of the anecdotes Louis Armstrong most remembered occurred in the 1930s, when he began touring with his musicians. They were touring various cities in the southern United States, taking jazz to different corners. They had hired a bus to transport the entire group.

The driver looked at them with suspicion as well as contempt. After examining them in detail, the man decided he was unwilling to drive to a group of poor-looking black men. They had to leave. Louis Armstrong recalled that there was a signed and paid contract  , but that failed to convince the driver.

Only a few minutes passed and the police were already there. Without a word , they arrested Louis Armstrong and his musicians for disorderly conduct. This happened despite the fact that they didn’t act aggressively. Everyone ended up in a cell.

At midnight, the group’s proprietor grabbed a marijuana cigarette and said to Louis, “ Captain, I think I have something that could get us into trouble” and held up the cigarette. Armstrong replied, ” Look, son, I think the only solution is to destroy the evidence .” The two laughed and smoked together. Louis Armstrong remembered that episode over and over again, and talked about it in different interviews.

The biography of Louis Armstrong, a talented man

Louis Armstrong  lived in one of the worst places for blacks and the poor: Louisiana, one of the most racist states in the United States. It is known that he was born in 1900, but the exact date is unknown.

He lived through his childhood and much of his adolescence  in a neighborhood called the  Red Light District , the most dangerous place in New Orleans. This place was the headquarters of the prostitution business and the home of thieves, murderers and delinquents. There, decaying cabarets sprouted in which, despite everything, excellent music circulated.

The place was also characterized by its Protestant churches, in which large numbers of the faithful gathered to express their prayers in the form of music. Louis Armstrong became part of the choir of one of these churches. This can be considered his beginning in music. 

A childhood with everything against him

Louis Armstrong’s biography shows that his parents separated soon after his birth. He ended up living with his grandmother, a very dedicated woman. Then he moved in with his mother, Mary Ann, who wasn’t exactly a monument to virtue.

Louis saw a large number of “stepfathers” enter and leave the house. However,  the mother knew how to guide the boy so that he did not get involved with the illegal businesses that were swarming there.

On one occasion there was a celebration and Louis Armstrong, who was just a teenager, took a gun from one of his stepfathers and fired several shots into the air. That was an accepted custom in that neighborhood.

However, there was a plainclothes officer who saw him and the  led to a reformatory. It was there that the boy received his first music lessons and learned to play the cornet and then the trumpet.

From misery to success

After leaving the reformatory, Louis began working in construction by day and as a musician by night in brothels. His talent caught the attention of famous musician King Oliver, who soon after helped him join the famous band Kid Ory . He later became part of another band that played music inside a boat.

He later went to New York and, in 1925, recorded his first album with his band, Hot Five . His fame spread and, in 1933, he toured Europe, becoming a huge success. Since then, 40 years of uninterrupted success have passed. His tour of Africa in 1960 is considered one of the most spectacular in the entire history of that continent.

Louis Armstrong married four times. The first and third time were with two girls of the night, who were not good companions for him. The second time, he married a university-educated pianist who contributed a lot to his life. However, they didn’t get along very well.

The fourth time, he finally found marital bliss, which he kept until death. Louis Armstrong’s music influenced all popular genres after him, and continues to live on to this day.