Louis Armstrong's Influence In Music
Daniel Louis (Satchmo) Armstrong, widely known as Louis Armstrong, or Satchmo, made musical history. He did not follow, but made his mark in his own way. A soloist Trumpeter and Jazz virtuoso who from the twenties on set what Jazz and Swing should be. Who was known from concert, screen, and recordings to be the driving force in developing Jazz and Swing.
Against what creative PR persons made out, the Satchmo was not born on the 4th of July, 1900, but August 4th, 1901. The PR people knew a good story, and it worked in print perfectly. Mr. Armstrong, a product from a dysfunctional family, was arrested at the age of thirteen for firing a gun into the air, and sent to a boy’s home for Waifs.
It was here that Louis learned to play the Coronet, by the owner of the home, Peter Davis. Louis had seen how the musicians in his home of New Orléans, were so popular. He and his friends had already been singing on corners for nickels. Music had already taken a hold of the young Armstrong. By the time he left the Boy’s home, Louis was already playing at picnics and parades. He would later return to the Boy’s home and share his love of life with the kids, to influence them.
Louis Armstrong learned at a young age, not to let negative views direct your life. At the age of seven he worked for a Jewish family, and noticed how the whites treated them. It was not just the blacks in the early 1900’s that dealt with racial issues. But Louis saw one thing that left a long time mark on him. Many of the Blacks wanted Pity, but this family of Jews he worked for, did not, they made their way. This was something Louis would carry with him the rest of his life.
Louis Armstrong’s influence was the style, structure, and joy of his art. It is something that can be seen in many musicians that listened to him. Listen to a Miles Davis cd, and you will hear the Great Satchmo. Yes it is Miles Davis, but the influence of Louis is there to be heard. Many of the musicians today you will also hear Louis’s influence, and not only in Jazz, Swing, Blues, but in any form. Louis Armstrong’s influence is one of the most powerful that has ever been, and may ever be.