August 4: Birthday of Louis Armstrong (1901)
Prayer Idea
Pray for people who innovate and explore new musical styles.
History Note
Louis Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901, in New Orleans, Louisiana. As a child, he worked odd jobs and sang in a quartet with other boys. He ended up in a home for children in trouble with the law, where he learned how to play the cornet.
The new sounds of jazz music in New Orleans inspired Armstrong, and he quickly became talented enough to play in local bands and on Mississippi riverboats. The trumpet became his instrument of choice.
Louis Armstrong became a leading jazz performer in Chicago, in New York, and in tours around the world. In addition to playing the trumpet, he sang a variety of songs in his distinctive gravelly voice. In addition to his live performances, Armstrong also appeared on television and in movies.
After making a major impact on the development of music, Armstrong died in 1971.
Louis Armstrong in 1953. Photo courtesy the New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection, Library of Congress.
Learn More
Watch Louis Armstrong perform “When the Saints Go Marching In” on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1959.
Find more resources at Homeschool History.
