LouisArmstrong

Born in the Back o' Town neighborhood of New Orleans on August 4, 1901, Louis Daniel Armstrong grew up in poverty but found music early. Sent to the Colored Waifs' Home at age 12, he received his first formal instruction on the cornet there. Under the mentorship of King Oliver, he developed with extraordinary speed into one of the most gifted improvisers who ever lived.

Armstrong moved to Chicago in 1922 to join Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, and his star rose quickly. His Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings of the mid-1920s are among the most significant in the history of American music, establishing the language of jazz soloing that all players since have worked within or against.

Beyond his trumpet playing, Armstrong's gravelly, joyful voice became one of the most recognizable in the world. 'What a Wonderful World' (1967) and 'Hello, Dolly!' (1964) — which knocked The Beatles from the top of the charts — brought him to audiences far beyond the jazz world. He was the first great jazz celebrity, a global ambassador for American music.

Armstrong died in New York in 1971, but New Orleans has never stopped claiming him. Louis Armstrong Park in the Tremé bears his name, as does Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. His face and his trumpet are the emblems of the city's musical identity, recognized everywhere on earth.