PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Louis Armstrong was born on August 4th, 1901. Armstrong grew up in a rough neighborhood. His father was a laborer and his mother was a part time prostitute. After getting in trouble, Armstrong was sent to New Orleans Colored Waifs Home for Boys. It was here he learned rhythm, percussion, how to play the trumpet, and how to sing by Peter Davis.
Louis Armstrong grew up also listening to jazz in dive bars. "King" Oliver was another mentor for Armstrong. In the 1920s he began to play in numerous bands. By 1929 he was famous and became a huge jazz star. Armstrong created his own performance group called Louis Armstrong and The Stompers and toured with the show "Hot Chocolate".
A SAMPLE OF LOUIS ARMSTRONG'S MUSIC
Early in his career, Armstrong rebelled against the Jim Crow South and added obscenities to the Star Spangled Banner. In September 1957, Louis Armstrong first spoke publicly about race relations in America. During the month of September, the country's attention was in Little Rock, Arkansas, where state Governor Faubus and a group of segregationists were defying a Supreme Court ruling desegregating Central High School.
