Louis Armstrong

"Satchmo" — as he was affectionately called by his legions of friends — never boasted like his fellow New Orleanian, jazzman Jelly Roll Morton, that he invented jazz, or for that matter that he was one of its better players. But everyone who heard him play or hears his inimitable style today can only agree that Daniel Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong was perhaps the best there has ever been.

The worldwide popularity of jazz can be directly attributed to the infectious style of performance that "Satchmo" gave and the unselfishness that characterized his persona.

'Satchmo' worked at various unskilled jobs much of his youth. He sold coal and had a youthful propensity for mischief. On a dare from a friend, he fired a pistol on South Rampart Street. For firing a weapon in a public place, he received an 18-month sentence at the Colored Waif's Home where he eventually came under the influence of "Captain" Peter Davis. Sensing that young Armstrong possessed a burning desire to learn, Davis provided the basic musical training on the cornet to young Louis. With that kindly gesture the history of popular music was undoubtedly rewritten.

By 1922, young Satchmo was ready to join his idol, Joe "King" Oliver's Creole Jazz Band in Chicago. By the time of his arrival in the Windy City he had become an accomplished musician. Part of the influence that Armstrong brought to Chicago had been an incredible street training in the back alleys and clubs of Black Storyville, the area surrounding Liberty and Perdido Streets, the current site of New Orleans city government.

Armstrong wrote in his autobiography, "Satchmo," "There were all kinds of thrills for me in Storyville. On every corner I could hear music. And such good music...And that man Joe Oliver! My, my, that man kept me spellbound with that horn of his."

In the early '30s, Armstrong's popularity had reached such epic proportions that he and his band toured Europe, a major milestone for a performer, and especially a young black performer.

As the years passed, Armstrong's persona and star appeal continued to grow. Satchmo's popularity never waned during his entire life. He played for presidents, European royalty, the kings and queens of his beloved Africa. He frequently toured internationally as a special envoy for the U.S. State Department and represented his country and New Orleans with human quality, dignity, charm and excellence. At every stop he made over a half century of performing, he always promoted his love for New Orleans and an avowed passion for red beans and rice. But of all the accolades, the greatest was being selected Zulu King in 1946.

The New York Times in an August 1991 commemorative article on Armstrong's career stated, "The power of his genius, combined with his loving manner, forced whites to rethink their racism, whether they knew it or not."

Louis Armstrong: a giant who helped shape New Orleans and America.