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  Match Game | Louis's Music Class | Teacher Lesson Plan

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Paragraph 1: Louis Armstrong was born August 4, 1901, in one of the poorest sections of New Orleans. As a young boy he had to work selling newspapers and hard coal from a wagon to help support his mother and younger sister. He even joined a quartet of other young boys and earned a little money singing songs on the street corners for tips from people passing by. One night, when he was 12 years old, he secretly took his stepfather's gun and fired it in the air during a New Year's Eve celebration. He was promptly arrested and sent to a reform school for boys. There he was taught to play the cornet and joined the marching band, and began leading the parades. He left the school after a year, and purchased his own cornet with the help of the Karnofsky family for whom he worked, selling coal.

Audio Clue: This is one of the most famous band numbers to come out of New Orleans. Listen to how easily the members of the band improvise together, one of the hallmarks of early jazz.

Paragraph 2:During his teen years, Louis Armstrong worked during the day and at night played his horn in night spots with local bands. He practiced hard and earned a reputation as such an excellent cornetist that he was hired to play on one of the riverboats that traveled up and down the Mississippi River. When Armstrong was 21, trumpet "King" Joe Oliver, who had once lived in New Orleans, invited him to come to Chicago to join his band. Armstrong was an immediate success in Chicago, where he later formed his own group, The Hot Five, and made some of the most famous jazz recordings ever produced. He began playing the trumpet in such new and creative ways that he developed a brand new style of jazz performance, where the soloist was featured. He became the first great jazz soloist.

Audio Clue: Louis Armstrong sings an extended "scat" solo (without words) accompanied by banjo. Listen for the call and response between his singing and the banjo. Thanks to Armstrong's soaring trumpet, this has been called one of the most energetic, swinging jazz pieces ever recorded. Do you agree? Why?

Paragraph 3: After his first two years in Chicago, Louis Armstrong joined the band of Fletcher Henderson, one of the great band leaders in New York. Armstrong had a great influence on the New York musicians; he taught them how to "swing." All of the trumpet players wanted to sound and "be like Louis." But he also had another talent: he was a very good singer, although he was not allowed to sing in Henderson's band. He went back to Chicago to work and recorded with the Hot Five. He returned to New York and began to sing on stage in addition to playing his trumpet. His first big hit as a singer was in the Broadway musical, Hot Chocolates, where he showed that a popular song could be used as a jazz composition, too. This was something else brand new that Louis Armstrong introduced to the musical world.

Audio Clue: Listen closely to: a) the words Armstrong sings for the title of the song; b) how he combined playing the trumpet with singing to create a new style of popular music.

Paragraph 4:Louis Armstrong was the most gifted and influential trumpet soloist in the history of the instrument. His originality was of such quality that his playing can be recognized easily if you listen for the following things: 1) His big, beautiful tone and the way he projected it above everyone else in the band; 2) his soaring high notes--he played the trumpet higher than it had ever been played before; 3) his vibrato, or trembling sounds; 4) the way he could hold high notes for a long time; and, (5) always, his great sense of "swing," making the music move forward.

Louis Armstrong made his first trip to England in 1932; he was the first jazz soloist to go abroad and become famous internationally. It was in England that he was given the nickname, "Satchmo," but most jazz musicians affectionately called him "Pops."

Audio Clue: The title suggests something you might have at a picnic. Listen closely for Armstrong's very creative improvisations in his solos. Remember: what he was doing on the trumpet had never been done before!

Paragraph 5:In 1964, Louis Armstrong's recording of this song was the number one best-seller in the country, and the biggest hit of his career. This was two years before he was in the movie of the same name with Barbra Streisand. Louis Armstrong made many TV appearances, and appeared in thirty-some Hollywood movies; he was the first African American to be featured with white actors. He had popularized scat singing, singing without words, in jazz many years before and was a master of phrasing and rhythm. In fact, his trumpet playing was a lot like his singing: it had vibrato; shakes; a relaxed, mellow quality; and the ability to hit the right note at the right time. His combination of singing a song and then playing his trumpet made him the leading solo entertainer in the world.

Audio Clue: Listen to compare Armstrong's singing with the way he plays the trumpet. Why do you think this song was so popular?

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