Louis Armstrong not only changed the way that jazz music was formed but also the culture and identities of americans. American culture was forever changed by jazz music. Louis Armstrong started playing music when he was eleven years old. Louis Armstrong grew up without a father and his family had little money. Louis Armstrong’s family life was extremely difficult, his family was forced into poverty and they were hungry all the time. This forced Louis’ mother into prostitution to bring money back for their family. When Louis was ten he moved coal into different cities for the coal mining industry to help bring home food for this family. He dropped out of school at age eleven and he joined a singing quartet. The boys sang songs in the streets for money, while he was singing with this quartet he was helping a Lithuanian Jewish immigrant family. They gave him a job and they cared for him. While he was being cared for by the Jewish family he was always in and out of a juvenile delinquents home. This is where he discovered his love for the cornet, an instrument similar to the trumpet.
Louis Armstrong was living in poverty but he found a way out- by music. Music saved Louis Armstrong’s life, he could have been trapped in the never ending cycle of poverty but he found a way out with his passion for music. This gave people who were living in poverty, hope. He had grown up listening to jazz music being played in the streets. Louis Armstrong worked nonstop to produce “great music” that everyone around the world could enjoy, with a style which led to the transformation of the way jazz is played. However, Armstrong’s talent and creativity did not make him a hero; his attitude about life, his humbleness, and his true love for music made him inspirational. He never wanted fame; he was "just glad to play". Louis Armstrong’s style of playing, an approach never before seen by other jazz artists, made him famous. As the musician who revolutionized jazz, he invented a technique called scat singing. Scat singing requires the singer to improvise a melody using syllables and rhythms. It was said that Louis created scat singing when he “dropped his sheet music during a recording session and had to substitute vocal improvisations until someone picked up the sheets for him”. Many jazz performers followed the sheet music, but Louis experimented with his music. He added more emotion and rich colored tone into the songs he performed along with his own personal style.
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Louis Armstrong affected american culture. He forever changed the face of jazz music, he had new ideas and was constantly changing his style of music. Jazz was becoming a world phenomenon, it was the popular music in the 1920’s. The music went right along with swing dancing, a new type of dance in the 1920’s. Louis Armstrong’s music is considered a classic because his music is still widely popular today. Families would be listening to his music on the television or their turntables. His songs are still being listened to today such as, La Vie En Rose and What a Wonderful World. “Jazz is played from the heart. You can even live by it. Always love it.” A quote from Louis Armstrong, talking about how jazz music isn’t just music it’s a lifestyle. Jazz was a lifestyle to Louis Armstrong because it was a very relaxed lifestyle. Louis Armstrong said jazz was his lifestyle because there were fun times, where people would party and drink. Then there were other times where you would see the negative in the world such as racism and discrimination. He took life as it came at him, he was very relaxed and a “go with the flow” kind of person. He let this lifestyle overpower him in some ways because he smoked marijuana very often. He was caught by the police for possession of marijuana a few times. He inspired people to not be worried about what people thought about them and to be nice to everyone, he had a very relaxed personality. Even though he faced discrimination he didn’t let that interfere with his life and his music.
Louis Armstrong paved a way for african americans trying to defeat discrimination in the 1920’s. He did not publicize his color and try to make it a big deal that he was the first african american to become famous for music. He wanted people to pay attention to his music and not like or dislike him just because of his race. Louis was always very passionate about his music. Many African Americans were mad at him for smiling and joking when so many horrible events were occurring everyday to his fellow African Americans. In 1957 the Governor of Arkansas refused to obey an order from the U.S. Supreme Court that said black students could attend an all-white high school in Little Rock. Arkansas Governor Faubus ordered the National Guard to prevent black students from going to school and President Eisenhower refused to intervene. Louis Armstrong said to the press: "The way they are treating people in the South, the government can go to hell!"
Many people liked President Eisenhower, Louis said publicly, "The President has no guts." This was a very brave thing to say in those days. Standing up like that he could have lost many fans and a lot of income, but he felt very strongly about doing the right thing and decided to cancel a state department trip to the Soviet Union rather than represent his country.
Louis Armstrong stood up for what he believed in and despite his situation, when he was living in poverty he overcame it. He lived in poverty and he fell in love with music. He followed his dream of becoming a musician and he even went beyond that, he created a new style of jazz music. This picture of Louis Armstrong is significant to US History because he represents the struggling american who faced many hardships and overcame them to fulfill his dream of becoming a jazz musician. Despite racism and discrimination he continued to keep living his life normally and performing new music. He didn't care about what anyone thought of him, he just wanted to be himself. He never let what people thought him affect his music or his lifestyle.
