Table Of Content
Yet Armstrong’s mugging -- he saw himself as an entertainer as much as a musician -- irked critics and some fellow black jazz performers, such as beboppers Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, who thought his shtick was too close to minstrelsy. One uncredited shot in the book captures the portly Armstrong in a messy hotel room, wearing nothing but white briefs, his trumpet lying in an open case in the foreground and the tape recorder perched on a table in the back. New jazz and exhibition spaces, and an inaugural show curated by Jason Moran, feature the trumpeter’s history, collaged onto the walls. After spending many years on the road, Armstrong settled permanently in Queens, New York in 1943 with his fourth wife, Lucille. Although subject to the vicissitudes of Tin Pan Alley and the gangster-ridden music business, as well as anti-black prejudice, he continued to develop his playing.
Places to Celebrate Black Musicians and How They Changed the World
As with his trumpet playing, Armstrong's vocal innovations served as a foundation for jazz vocal interpretation. The uniquely gravelly coloration of his voice became an archetype that was endlessly imitated. His scat singing was enriched by his matchless experience as a trumpet soloist.
Early life
Out of respect for the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, refuses to appear at the Oscars and other entertainers follow his example. Is hospitalized at Beth Israel Hospital with heart and kidney ailments. Appears in the motion picture High Society with Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly. Makes a brief visit in May to the Gold Coast (soon to be called Ghana), where he performs for more than 100,000 people at the polo grounds in the capital, Accra.
The preserved house of a jazz legend still echoes with his music.
The Louis Armstrong House still stands in Corona, Queens, in much the same condition as when Armstrong and his wife Lucille lived there. No one has lived in the home since the Armstrongs and the interior of the house has been restored and maintained in period style. Many of the original furnishings remain and the artist’s music is piped throughout the home as visitors make their way along the tour.
Museum
In the week beginning May 9, 1964, his recording of the song "Hello, Dolly!" went to number one. An album of the same title was quickly created around the song, and also shot to number one, knocking The Beatles off the top of the chart. The album sold very well for the rest of the year, quickly going "Gold" (500,000). His performance of "Hello, Dolly!" won for best male pop vocal performance at the 1964 Grammy Awards. Armstrong recorded two albums with Ella Fitzgerald, Ella and Louis and Ella and Louis Again, for Verve Records. The sessions featured the backing musicianship of the Oscar Peterson Trio with drummer Buddy Rich on the first album and Louie Bellson on the second.
HISTORY
It took decades, but the archives became accessible in the 90’s, and the historic house opened for public tours in 2003. The Louis Armstrong House Museum (LAHM) became its own entity, with its expanded programs and official 501c3 non-profit status in 2008. LAHM administers the historic house under a long-term license agreement with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and Queens College.
Louis Armstrong House Museum In Queens, NY Celebrates New Center Ribbon Cutting Ahead Of July 6 Opening - Shore Fire Media
Louis Armstrong House Museum In Queens, NY Celebrates New Center Ribbon Cutting Ahead Of July 6 Opening.
Posted: Fri, 30 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Satchmo’s Wonderful World: Louis Armstrong Center Amplifies An Artist’s Vision
Moran titled the exhibition "Here to Stay," borrowing a lyric from one of the George and Ira Gershwin songs that Armstrong redrew with his interpretation. The phrase is plain-spoken but powerful, like Armstrong's music — and on his block in Corona in 2023, it carries a ring of truth. The Louis Armstrong Center was a brainchild of Michael Cogswell, the founding Executive Director of the House Museum, who died in 2020.
A jazz ambassador
The historic house tour requires the ability to climb two sets of steep stairs and stand for 45 minutes. Visitors that are unable to take the tour receive a virtual tour instead. Explore more of the life and career of Louis Armstrong from anywhere, anytime with the Louis Armstrong House Museum digital guide on Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app.
Work during hard times
Among the Hot Five and Seven records were "Cornet Chop Suey", "Struttin' With Some Barbecue", "Hotter Than that" and "Potato Head Blues", all featuring highly creative solos by Armstrong. Young trumpet players across the country bought these recordings and memorized his solos. With his instantly recognizable rich, gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an influential singer and skillful improviser.
An early job working for the Jewish Karnofsky family allowed Armstrong to make enough money to purchase his first cornet. We invite musicians, jazz fans, scholars from around the world–and our closest neighbors here in Corona, Queens–to discover Louis and Lucille Armstrong’s story from a new perspective. The Armstrong Center (which includes the welcome desk, museum store, exhibit area, restroom, and performance space) and the Garden of the Museum are wheelchair-accessible.
(1964),” the latter knocking the Beatles off the top of the pop charts at the height of Beatlemania. Through the years, Louis entertained millions, from heads of state and royalty to the kids on his stoop in Corona. Despite his fame, he remained a humble man and lived a simple life in a working-class neighborhood. To this day, everyone loves Louis Armstrong—just the mention of his name makes people smile.
His resonant, velvety lower-register tone and bubbling cadences on sides such as "Lazy River" exerted a huge influence on younger white singers such as Bing Crosby. Recently, we were invited to take part in a house tour, which took us through the Armstrongs’ living room, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and den (deemed Louis’ “man cave”). From the moment we stepped inside, it was evident that Armstrong’s essence completely saturates the house.
The full story of what happened next would require an in-depth investigation through our Archives, but in short, Al Cobette and Allan McMillan, another of Louis’s old friends who wrote for the Black press, were removed (or resigned) from the LAMP project. We also have a handwritten note from Lucille, angry that the organization was losing money and she wasn’t being given any reports. Very little survives about the Louis Armstrong Memorial Project in the late 1970s, but suddenly, it was resuscitated thanks to the efforts of two major players in the history of the Louis Armstrong House Museum, the aforementioned Jeffrion Aubry and Helen Marshall. Publicity for the Armstrong Center and its new “Here to Stay” exhibit curated by Jason Moran has been spectacular; you can learn more about it through pieces on CBS Sunday Morning, WNYC radio, the Gothamist, NPR, and many other outlets. In 1968, Armstrong scored one last popular hit in the UK with "What a Wonderful World", which topped the British charts for a month.
Brandeis was interested in having Lucille donate Louis’s archival materials to their campus, but Lucille died suddenly without ever putting anything in writing. After her passing, the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, which she and Louis formed in 1969, came together to figure out a plan for the Armstrong’s home–now a National Historic Landmark–and all of the treasures buried within. As she promised in 1971, Lucille left the home to the City of New York, who turned it over to the Department of Cultural Affairs. DCA needed an organization to step up and administer the Armstrong House–that organization would be Queens College. And yet for decades, the Louis Armstrong House Museum has been a well-kept secret on a quiet street in Corona.
Armstrong started to work at Connie's Inn in Harlem, chief rival to the Cotton Club, a venue for elaborately staged floor shows,[63] and a front for gangster Dutch Schultz. Armstrong had considerable success with vocal recordings, including versions of songs composed by his old friend Hoagy Carmichael. His 1930s recordings took full advantage of the RCA ribbon microphone, introduced in 1931, which imparted warmth to vocals and became an intrinsic part of the 'crooning' sound of artists like Bing Crosby. Armstrong's interpretation of Carmichael's "Stardust" became one of the most successful versions of this song ever recorded, showcasing Armstrong's unique vocal sound and style and his innovative approach to singing songs that were already standards. The records by Louis Armstrong and His Five–and later, Hot Seven–are the most influential in jazz.
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