Louis armstrong facts for kids

Have you ever noticed how different music can make you feel different things? Some music makes you feel joyful and energetic, like you need to get up and dance. Some can make you feel sad, even make you cry. Other music might make you feel calm or hopeful. Music can remind you of things that happened a long time ago, or of people you love, and make you feel like they’re right there. But for some people, music doesn’t just change the way they feel. It changes their entire life.

Louis Armstrong didn’t start out with many advantages in life. Born in 1901, in New Orleans, Louisiana, his family was extremely poor and their neighborhood was so dangerous, it was nicknamed “the Battlefield.” His father left the family when he was a baby. At different times, Louis lived with his mother and grandmother, and had to support his family by doing odd jobs even as a small child. 

But, Louis did have something special. He had a horn and a voice, and he could make music with both.  He would often

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Hey Kids, Meet Louis Armstrong | Jazz Artists Biography

from the Jazz Index

Hey Kids, Meet Louis Armstrong

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Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) Jazz Trumpeter and Singer

Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans, the "Birthplace of Jazz." Soon after Louis was born Louis' father abandoned his mother and Louis and his little sister Beatrice were sent to live with their grandmother. At the age of fem, Louis and his sister returned to live with their mother. Later Louis was enrolled in the Fisk School for Boys and worked to help his mother by delivering newspapers and hauling coal.

At the age of eleven Louis dropped out of school and joined a quartet of boys that sang on the street to earn money to help his family. It was also around this time that Louis started getting in trouble. In 1913, the police took him to a home for troubled boys. It was there that Louis talked the band director into letting him join the band. Louis learned to play the cornet quickly.

At thirteen, Loui

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Louis Armstrong (1901–1971)

How to say the name:

Many people said his first name Louis like ‘Lew-iss’. However, he prefered Lew-ee.

Born:

4th August 1901 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

Louis Armstrong’s grave in New York

Died:

6th July 1971 in New York, New York.

Buried:

Flushing Cemetery, Flushing, Queens County, New York.

Some famous singles:

• Hello Dolly.
• What a Wonderful World. (See below for a film of this song.)
• When the Saints Go Marchin’ In. (See below for a video of this song.)
• Heebie Jeebies.
• St Louis Blues.
• Ain’t Misbehavin’.

Some (very!) great albums:

• Louis Armstrong and the Hot Five (1925–1928).
• Louis Armstrong and the Hot Seven (1927).
• Louis Armstrong: The Complete RCA Victor Reocrdings (1932–1956).
• Porgy and Bess (1958)—with Ella Fitzgerald.
• Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington: The Complete Collaborations (1961).
• Hello Dolly (1964).
• Plus many others!

Some interesting facts: