To distinguish them from other hawkers, he tried playing a tin horn to attract customers. Wednesday-Friday: 10AM-5PM “Growing up in New Orleans, a room like that would have been used as a bedroom or a living room; he never quite got over the delight of having an entire room to himself.”. His influence upon Crosby is particularly important with regard to the subsequent development of popular music: Crosby admired and copied Armstrong, as is evident on many of his early recordings, notably "Just One More Chance" (1931). [91], Armstrong performed in Italy at the 1968 Sanremo Music Festival where he sang "Mi Va di Cantare"[118] alongside his friend, the Eritrean-born Italian singer Lara Saint Paul. Shortly afterward, Armstrong received an invitation to go to New York City to play with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, the top African-American band of the time. So Lucille and Morris Grossberg teamed up to really bring it up-to-date. Louis Armstrong—the world’s most famous jazz musician—was an international celebrity who could have lived anywhere. Norman Granz then had the vision for Ella and Louis to record Porgy and Bess. [40][41], In 1925, Armstrong returned to Chicago largely at the insistence of Lil, who wanted to expand his career and his income. Today, the Louis Armstrong House Museum & Archives is open to the public, offering guided tours of Louis’s longtime home. [91], Often, Armstrong re-composed pop-tunes he played, simply with variations that made them more compelling to jazz listeners of the era. Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo",[a] "Satch", and "Pops",[2] was an American trumpeter, composer, vocalist, and actor who was among the most influential figures in jazz. [65], By the 1950s, Armstrong was a widely beloved American icon and cultural ambassador who commanded an international fanbase. Almost 20 years to the day after Lucille’s death, following a $1.6 million restoration, the house opened in 2003 as a museum. Louis was starting to slow down and his health was starting to fail, but he refused to leave the home or the Corona, Queens neighborhood he grew to love so much. Alternate side parking is in effect on Thursday and Friday, from 9:30AM – 11AM. But after she died in 1946, Louis and Lucille began to spread out. While there are no confirmed cases connected to the Museum, we are making this decision to support regional and national efforts limiting the spread of COVID-19. The museum opened to the public on October 15, 2003. John Thomas replaced Kid Ory on trombone. The porch that was once in the front of the house was taken down and the space was added to the living room. Duke Ellington's orchestra went to Roseland to catch Armstrong's performances. [84] His relationship with Alpha, however, began while he was playing at the Vendome during the 1920s and continued long after. Make your group reservation with this form. Louis was a big fan of the mirrors; “So we can dig our smiling expressions!” explains Riccardi. [79] That said, Armstrong was registered as "Lewie" for the 1920 U.S. Census. The Louis Armstrong House Museum website states: Judging from home recorded tapes now in our Museum Collections, Louis pronounced his own name as "Lewis". All groups are required to make advance reservations—please use our Group Tour Request Form to do so. Reservations All groups are required to make advance reservations—please use our Group Tour Request Form to […] He enjoyed listening to his own recordings, and comparing his performances musically. Here’s Everything You Need to Transform Your Garden into a Second Living Room. [7] At least three other biographies treat the July 4 birth date as a myth. In the early 1960s, founding father of jazz Louis Armstrong and his wife Lucille updated the kitchen of their 1910 Corona, Queens home in swinging modern style. He suffered heart and kidney ailments that forced him to stop touring. Armstrong enjoyed many types of music, from blues to the arrangements of Guy Lombardo, to Latin American folksongs, to classical symphonies and opera. She had divorced her first husband a few years earlier.

[38], Armstrong and Oliver parted amicably in 1924. The song begins with a brief trumpet solo, then the main melody is introduced by sobbing horns, memorably punctuated by Armstrong's growling interjections at the end of each bar: "Yeah!

On his 1964 record "Hello, Dolly", he sings, "This is Lewis, Dolly" but in 1933 he made a record called "Laughin' Louie". [44] Armstrong's band leading style was easygoing, as St. Cyr noted, "One felt so relaxed working with him, and he was very broad-minded ... always did his best to feature each individual. They furnished music for silent movies and live shows, including jazz versions of classical music, such as "Madame Butterfly", which gave Armstrong experience with longer forms of music and with hosting before a large audience. [98], When asked about his religion, Armstrong answered that he was raised a Baptist, always wore a Star of David, and was friends with the pope. His irrepressible personality both as a performer and as a public figure was so strong that to some it sometimes overshadowed his contributions as a musician and singer. He scooped the coins off the street and stuck them into his mouth to prevent bigger children from stealing them. [87] However, in December 2012, 57-year-old Sharon Preston-Folta claimed to be his daughter from a 1950s affair between Armstrong and Lucille "Sweets" Preston, a dancer at the Cotton Club. In a memoir written for Robert Goffin between 1943 and 1944, Armstrong states, "All white folks call me Louie," perhaps suggesting that he himself did not or, on the other hand, that no whites addressed him by one of his nicknames such as Pops. [citation needed], Oliver's band was among the most influential jazz bands in Chicago in the early 1920s. In addition the interior of the house was renovated to their taste. I spoke to Ricky Riccardi, the Director of Research Collections at the Louis Armstrong House Museum, who gives us his insight into the house’s style. In 1964, Armstrong knocked The Beatles off the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart with "Hello, Dolly! Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an inventive trumpet and cornet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the focus of the music from collective improvisation to solo performance. [69][70], After finishing his contract with Decca Records, he became a freelance artist and recorded for other labels.

[114] On a later recording, Armstrong also sang out "I done forgot the words" in the middle of recording "I'm A Ding Dong Daddy From Dumas". His scat singing style was enriched by his matchless experience as a trumpet soloist. [90], Armstrong was noted for his colorful and charismatic personality. In addition, Richmond was associated with the Ku Klux Klan.

They did entertain when they were there but except for the jazz musicians who would visit Louis, they didn’t have many show business friends over to the house.