Louis Armstrongs Influential Career Louis Armstrong was the most successful and talented jazz musician in history. His influence and expansive career continues to make waves in the jazz world. That is what made him become what he is to many today a legend. Born on August 4, 1901, in the poorest section of New Orleans, Armstrong grew up with his grandparents due to his parents separation. On January 1, 1913 he made a mistake which turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him. At a New Years celebration in downtown New Orleans, Louis Armstrong, also known as Satchmo and Satch, fired a pistol into the air and was placed in the Colored Waifs Home. It was there that he was introduced to Peter Davis the brass band leader who taught him how to play the cornet (Brown 17). Soon after he began playing, Armstrong was made leader of the band something he was extremely proud of. In June of 1914, Armstrong was free to leave the Waifs Home. He was hired by various cabarets throughout the city, as well as for picnics, dances, and funerals. It was at one of these places that he was spotted by the famous Joe King Oliver. King Oliver found Armstrong stand-in slots at orchestras and other venues. In 1918, he was offered the vacant seat left by Oliver in the band the Brown Skinned Babies. Kid Ory, leader of the band, once said that after Louis joined them he, improved so fast it was amazing. He had a wonderful ear and a wonderful memory. All you had to do was hum or whistle a new tune to him and hed know it right away (Boujut 21). At the end of 1918 Armstrong married Daisy Parker, a prostitute he had met at a dance hall that he played on Saturday nights. The marriage ended only four years later due to her beating him regularly (Bergreen 87). Louis Armstrong was hired in May of 1919 to play on a riverboat that traveled the Mississippi River from New Orleans to St. Louis. Armstrong soon became very popular in St. Louis and was in high demand...
