Louis Armstrong, 1901-1971: 'The Ambassador of American Jazz'

This is Gwen Outen. And this is Steve Ember with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. Today we tell
about Louis Armstrong, one of the greatest jazz musicians. His voice, trumpet-playing skill and creativity
continue to influence jazz artists today. One of Louis Armstrong's biggest hits was "Hello Dolly."

Louis Armstrong played jazz, sang jazz and wrote jazz. He recorded hit songs for fifty years and his music is
still heard today on television, radio and in movies.

Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on August fourth, nineteen-oh-one. New Orleans is a
port city at the mouth of the Mississippi River. It is a city where the customs of many different people mixed
together.

Louis Armstrong grew up in Storyville, one of the poorest areas of New Orleans.

His father left the family shortly after he was born. His mother worked to support him and his sister. But
Armstrong spent most of his time with his grandmother.

Jazz was just beginning to develop when Louis was a boy. It grew out of the blues songs and ragtime music
that had been popular at the turn of the century.

Louis discovered music early in life. He was surrounded by it. The music of churches, bands, parades and
drinking places were all a daily part of New Orleans culture. Louis sang with other boys on the streets for
money. There he began to develop his musical skills.

When he was eleven years old, Louis was sent to a reform school for firing a gun outside to celebrate New
Year's Eve. At the school, he learned to play the trumpet in the school's brass band.

Louis spent eighteen months at the reform school. Then he went back to work. He sold newspapers, unloaded
boats and sold coal from a horse and cart. He also listened to bands at popular clubs in Storyville. Joe "King"
Oliver played with the Kid Ory Band. He soon became young Louis's teacher. As Louis's skills developed, he
began to perform professionally.

At the age of eighteen, Armstrong joined the Kid Ory Band, one of the finest bands in New Orleans. The
experience helped him develop his music skills. Armstrong later replaced King Oliver in the band when Oliver
moved to Chicago, Illinois. In nineteen-nineteen, Armstrong joined Fate Marable's band in Saint Louis,
Missouri. Marable's band played on steamboats that traveled up and down the Mississippi River. Working
with Marable helped prepare Armstrong to play for white audiences.

In nineteen twenty-two, Armstrong left the Marable Band to play with King Oliver in Chicago. By then, Chicago
had become the center of jazz music.

A year later, Armstrong made his first recordings as a member of King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band. He later
moved to New York City, where he influenced the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra with his creativity.

Armstrong returned to Chicago in nineteen twenty-six and formed his own group. They were called the Hot
Five and later the Hot Seven. Their recordings are considered some of the most influential in jazz history.

Armstrong could make his voice sound like a musical instrument. He could make an instrument sound like a
singer's voice. The song "Heebie Jeebies" is said to be the first recorded example of what became known as
scat singing. He recorded it with the Hot Five.
By nineteen twenty-nine, Armstrong was becoming very popular. He returned to New York to play in an all-
black Broadway musical called "Hot Chocolates." The show included the music of Fats Waller. Armstrong's
version of Waller's song, "Ain't Misbehavin', was a huge hit.

By the end of the nineteen twenties, Armstrong had formed his own band. In nineteen thirty-two, he sailed
to England, and had great success. A reporter there called him "Satchmo," and he kept that nickname for the
rest of his life. For the next three years, Armstrong played in cities across the United States and Europe.

Louis Armstrong returned to the United States in nineteen thirty-five. He hired Joe Glaser to be his
manager. Glaser proved to be a great manager and friend.

Glaser organized a big band called Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra. It was one of the most popular groups
of the "swing" music period. Swing was a style of jazz played by big bands in the nineteen thirties.

The group played together for the next ten years. During that time, Armstrong became one of the most
famous men in America. He experienced racial unfairness during his life. But he rarely made public
statements. One time, however, he criticized the way the government treated blacks in the American South
in the nineteen fifties. Newspapers accused him of being a troublemaker for speaking out.

In the nineteen forties, Armstrong grew tired of leading a large group. For the remaining years of his life, he
led a six-member group called the All Stars. The group included some of the best musicians in America. They
performed extensively in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America.

Over the years, Armstrong recorded with many famous musicians. For example, he worked with singers Ella
Fitzgerald and Bing Crosby and the great composer Duke Ellington. Armstrong was known as friendly and easy
to work with.

Armstrong's biggest hits came later in his life. The song "Mack the Knife" was a big hit in nineteen fifty-five. In
nineteen sixty-four, his version of the song "Hello Dolly" was the top hit around the world. It even replaced a
top-selling hit by the hugely popular British rock group, the Beatles. Three years later, he appeared in the
motion picture version of "Hello Dolly" with singer Barbra Streisand. The song "What a Wonderful World,"
recorded in nineteen sixty-eight, was his final big hit.

Louis Armstrong never finished the fifth grade in school. Yet he wrote two books about his life and many
stories for magazines. He appeared in more than thirty movies. He composed many jazz pieces. He won
several gold records and many other awards. Armstrong performed an average of three hundred concerts
each year, traveling all over the world. He became known as the ambassador of American Jazz.

Louis Armstrong was married four times. Lucille Armstrong was his fourth wife. They married in nineteen
forty-two and stayed together for the rest of his life. They had no children.

Louis Armstrong died in nineteen seventy-one. His death was front page news around the world. In nineteen
seventy-seven, his home in Queens, New York, was declared a national historic place. It is now a museum. For
more information about Louis Armstrong and his house, you can go to the museum's Internet Web site. The
address is www.satchmo.net.

This program was written and produced by Cynthia Kirk. This is Gwen Outen. And this is Steve Ember. Listen
again next week for PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English.
 Louis Armstrong, 1901-1971: "El Embajador de American Jazz '

Esto es Gwen Outen. Y esto es Steve Ember con personas en Estados Unidos en especial VOA Ingls. Hoy
daremos informacin sobre Louis Armstrong, uno de los ms grandes msicos de jazz. Su voz, la habilidad y la
creatividad que toca la trompeta siguen influyendo en los artistas de jazz en la actualidad. Uno de los mayores
xitos de Louis Armstrong fue "Hello Dolly".

Louis Armstrong tocaba jazz, canto jazz y escribi el jazz. Grab canciones de xito durante cincuenta aos y
su msica an se escucha hoy en la televisin, la radio y en las pelculas.

Louis Armstrong naci en Nueva Orleans, Louisiana cuarta de agosto de mil y un minuto. Nueva Orleans es
una ciudad portuaria en la desembocadura del ro Mississippi. Es una ciudad donde las costumbres de muchas
personas diferentes mezclados entre s.

Louis Armstrong creci en Storyville, una de las zonas ms pobres de Nueva Orleans.

Su padre abandon la familia poco despus de que naci. Su madre trabaj para apoyar a l ya su hermana.
Pero Armstrong pas la mayor parte de su tiempo con su abuela.

Jazz estaba empezando a desarrollarse cuando Louis era un nio. Se desarroll a partir de las canciones de
blues y ragtime que haban sido populares en el cambio de siglo.

Louis descubri la msica a temprana edad. Estaba rodeado por ella. La msica de las iglesias, las bandas,
desfiles y lugares para beber eran todos una parte diaria de la cultura de Nueva Orleans. Louis cant con otros
nios en las calles por dinero. All comenz a desarrollar sus habilidades musicales.

Cuando tena once aos de edad, Louis fue enviado a un reformatorio por disparar un arma de fuego fuera
para celebrar la vspera de Ao Nuevo. En la escuela, aprendi a tocar la trompeta en la banda de msica de
la escuela.

Louis pas dieciocho meses en la escuela de reforma. Entonces l volvi al trabajo. Vendi peridicos, barcos
sin carga y se vende carbn de un caballo y el carro. l tambin escuch bandas en clubes populares de
Storyville. Joe "King" Oliver juega con el Ory Band Kid. Pronto se convirti en el maestro del joven Louis. Como
las habilidades de Louis desarrollados, comenz a realizar profesionalmente.

A la edad de dieciocho aos, Armstrong se uni a la banda de Kid Ory, una de las mejores bandas en Nueva
Orleans. La experiencia le ayud a desarrollar sus habilidades musicales. Armstrong reemplazado ms tarde
King Oliver en la banda cuando Oliver se traslad a Chicago, Illinois. En mil novecientos-diecinueve aos,
Armstrong se uni a la banda de Fate Marable en Saint Louis, Missouri. La banda de Marable jugado en los
barcos de vapor que viajaban arriba y abajo del ro Mississippi. Trabajar con Marable Armstrong ayud a
preparar para jugar para el pblico blanco.

En mil novecientos veintids, Armstrong dej la banda Marable para jugar con King Oliver en Chicago. Para
entonces, Chicago se haba convertido en el centro de la msica de jazz.

Un ao ms tarde, Armstrong hizo sus primeras grabaciones como miembro de la Creole Jazz Band de King
Oliver. Ms tarde se traslad a la ciudad de Nueva York, donde influy en la orquesta de Fletcher Henderson
con su creatividad.
Armstrong volvi a Chicago en mil novecientos veintisis aos y form su propio grupo. Ellos fueron llamados
los Hot Five y ms tarde el Hot Seven. Sus grabaciones se consideran algunos de los ms influyentes en la
historia del jazz.

Armstrong podra hacer su sonido de la voz como un instrumento musical. Se podra hacer un sonido de
instrumento como la voz de un cantante. La cancin "Heebie Jeebies" se dice que es el primer ejemplo
registrado de lo que se conoce como scat. Lo grab con el Hot Five.

A los diecinueve veintinueve aos, Armstrong se estaba convirtiendo en muy popular. Volvi a Nueva York
para tocar en un musical de Broadway de color negro llamado "Chocolates calientes". El espectculo incluy
la msica de Fats Waller. La versin de Armstrong de la cancin de Waller, "Is not Misbehavin ', fue un gran
xito.

A finales de los aos veinte, Armstrong haba formado su propia banda. En mil novecientos treinta y dos, que
naveg a Inglaterra, y tuvo gran xito. Un reportero no le llam "Satchmo", y mantuvo ese apodo por el resto
de su vida. Durante los siguientes tres aos, Armstrong jug en ciudades de los Estados Unidos y Europa.

Louis Armstrong regres a los Estados Unidos en mil novecientos treinta y cinco. Se contrat a Joe Glaser para
ser su manager. Glaser result ser un gran entrenador y amigo.

Glaser organiz una gran banda llamada Louis Armstrong y su orquesta. Fue uno de los grupos ms populares
de la poca de la msica "swing". Swing era un estilo de jazz interpretado por grandes bandas en la dcada de
los aos treinta.

El grupo toc en conjunto para los prximos diez aos. Durante ese tiempo, Armstrong se convirti en uno de
los hombres ms famosos de Amrica. l experiment injusticia racial durante su vida. Sin embargo, rara vez
se hizo declaraciones pblicas. Una vez, sin embargo, ha criticado la forma en que el gobierno trataba a los
negros en el Sur de Estados Unidos en los aos cincuenta. Los peridicos lo acusaron de ser un elemento
perturbador para hablar hacia fuera.

En los aos cuarenta, Armstrong se cans de llevar un grupo grande. Para los restantes aos de su vida, se
dirigi a un grupo de seis miembros de la llamada All Stars. El grupo inclua a algunos de los mejores msicos
de Amrica. Realizaron ampliamente en frica, Asia, Europa y Amrica del Sur.

Con los aos, Armstrong grab con muchos msicos famosos. Por ejemplo, trabaj con cantantes Ella
Fitzgerald y Bing Crosby y el gran compositor Duke Ellington. Armstrong era conocido como amigable y fcil
de trabajar.

los mayores xitos de Armstrong llegaron ms tarde en su vida. La cancin "Mack the Knife" fue un gran xito
en mil novecientos cincuenta y cinco. En mil novecientos sesenta y cuatro su versin de la cancin "Hello Dolly"
fue golpeado la parte superior de todo el mundo. Incluso se sustituye una mayor venta golpeado por el grupo
de rock britnico muy popular, los Beatles. Tres aos ms tarde, apareci en la versin cinematogrfica de
"Hello Dolly" con el cantante Barbra Streisand. La cancin "What a Wonderful World", grabado en mil
novecientos sesenta y ocho fue su ltimo gran xito.

Louis Armstrong nunca termin el quinto grado en la escuela. Sin embargo, l escribi dos libros sobre su vida
y muchas historias para revistas. Apareci en ms de treinta pelculas. Compuso muchas piezas de jazz. Gan
varios discos de oro y muchos otros premios. Armstrong realiz una media de trescientos conciertos cada ao,
viajando por todo el mundo. Se hizo conocido como el embajador del jazz americano.
Louis Armstrong se cas cuatro veces. Lucille Armstrong era su cuarta esposa. Se casaron en mil novecientos
de cuarenta y dos aos y permanecieron juntos durante el resto de su vida. No tuvieron hijos.

Louis Armstrong muri en mil novecientos setenta y uno. Su muerte fue noticia de primera plana en todo el
mundo. En mil novecientos setenta por siete, su casa en Queens, Nueva York, fue declarada lugar histrico
nacional. Ahora es un museo. Para obtener ms informacin acerca de Louis Armstrong y su casa, puede ir al
sitio web de Internet del museo. La direccin es www.satchmo.net.

Este programa fue escrito y producido por Cynthia Kirk. Esto es Gwen Outen. Y esto es Steve Ember. Escuchar
de nuevo la prxima semana para personas en Estados Unidos en especial VOA Ingls.