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Satch's Story

Welcome to my centennial tribute to Louis Armstrong, a small nod of affection to the great Satchmo. Below is the basic story. To the left, links to other pages on my site. Enjoy, and on his birthday this year, hum a few bars of "West End Blues," "Rockin' Chair," or "Mack the Knife," raise a glass in his honor, remember him as you will. Here's to you, Pops.

Donald Beale       
       

Satchel Mouth, Satchmo, Pops. Louis Daniel Armstrong was born 4 August 1901 in New Orleans. His father, William Armstrong, abandoned his wife and children when Louis was still an infant. Growing up in poverty, Louis lived for a time with his grandmother, then in a two-room house with his mother, Mayanne, and sister, Beatrice.

Louis helped support his family, taking any sort of odd job he found. Around 1907, Louis formed a vocal quartet with three other boys to perform on the street for tips. Some neighbors lent him money to buy his first cornet.

On New Year's Eve, 1912, Louis fired a pistol in the street, in celebration of the holiday. As a result, the authorities sent him to the Colored Waif's Home for Boys, where he received his first formal musical instruction from the band director. Eventually, Louis became the band's leader.

After Louis left the Waif's Home in 1914, trumpet player Joe Oliver became his mentor, and Louis performed in New-Orleans honky-tonks. In 1918, Joe Oliver moved to Chicago, became "King Oliver," and Louis joined him in 1922. Louis began his recording career the following year as a member of King Oliver's band.

Louis moved to New York City in 1924, joining Fletcher Henderson and his orchestra at the Roseland Ballroom. Louis recorded with Henderson, Sidney Bechet, and Bessie Smith, but by 1925 he had made his first recording as leader of his own group, Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five. Satch began to wow audiences with his audacious trumpet solos. "West End Blues" hit the streets in 1928, becoming a landmark recording in early jazz. His first recording of "Sleepytime Down South," which became his theme song, was released in 1931.

The year 1932 brought a three-month tour of Great Britain. The next two years brought a tour in the U.S., a return to Britain, tours of Denmark, Norway, and Holland, and several months living in Paris. At one railway station in Denmark, ten thousand people came out to greet him.

During the next few years, Louis appeared in several motion pictures, including Pennies from Heaven (with Bing Crosby), Swing That Music, Artists and Models (with Jack Benny), Every Day's a Holiday (with Mae West), Swingin' the Dream, a jazz version of A Midsummer's Night Dream, Cabin in the Sky (with Ethel Waters, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Lena Horne, and Duke Ellington), and A Song in Born (directed by Howard Hawks, starring Danny Kaye, and featuring, along with Louis, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Lionel Hampton, Charlie Barnet, and Mel Powell).

By the end of the thirties, Satch had become one of the country's significant artists, had an enthusiastic following in Europe, and left his mark on swing and the big-band sound.

In 1943, Louis had married Lucille Wilson (his fourth and final wife), and in 1943, they bought a house in Corona, Queens, New York City, which would remain their home for rest of their lives.

With a small group and his big band, Louis performed at Carnegie Hall in 1947. Later that year, he also appeared at New York City's Town Hall with a small group. Subsequently, he broke up his big band and formed a septet, Louis Armstrong and the All Stars.

The early fifties saw tours of Switzerland, Italy, Canada, Colorado, Hawaii, Germany, Belgium, and Japan. For six weeks in 1953, he toured with Benny Goodman.

Some of Louis's best-known recordings were done in the fifties. These include "Satchmo: A Musical Authobiography" for Decca Records, "Louis Armstrong Plays W. C. Handy" for Columbia, "Mack the Knife," "Satch Plays Fats," and his magnificent collaborative recordings with Ella Fitzgerald.

Edward R. Murrow filmed the documentary "Satchmo the Great" in 1956. Satch appeared in High Society with Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra in 1956 and in The Five Pennies with Danny Kaye in 1958. Satch was proud of his work in High Society, a featured role along side some big stars. (Of the film appearances, The Five Pennies is my own sentimental favorite, especilly for the fabulous duet of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" that Satch plays with Red Nichols.)

Since World War II, Louis had become known as "Ambassador Satch," for the goodwill spread throughout the world via his uniquely American music; thus, in the sixties, his activities included tours and broadcasts sponsored by the State Department.

As the sixties began, Louis toured Africa, performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, and collaborated with Duke Ellington on their sole studio recording together.

In 1964, Louis's recording of "Hello Dolly" not only became a number one hit, but did so by knocking the Beatles tune "Can't Buy Me Love" out the number-one spot. Moreover, that made Satch the oldest artist ever to chart a number-one hit in the history of Billboard, a feat listed in The Guinness Book of World Records.

The decade continued with national and international tours and numerous television appearances. The film Hello Dolly, made in 1968 with Barbara Steisand, featured Louis as "Louis, the bandleader." He recorded the soundtrack to On Her Majesty's Secret Service the following year (unfortunately, Sean Connery didn't show up for that one).

Satch remained active to the end of his life, doing concerts, televisions spots, and recordings, despite heart problems and a chronic lip problem that had plagued him for decades, supposedly the result of never acquiring the proper embouchure. In 1971, Louis made his final commercial recording, the poem "The Night before Christmas," recorded in his own den. On 6 July 1971, Louis Armstrong died at home in his sleep. His death made headlines around the world, and as he lay in state at the New York National Guard Armory, more that 25,000 mourners filed by his coffin.