Louis Armstrong And The Harlem Renaissance

The 1920s and 30s were a time of renewal and revival for the city of Harlem. This period of time has been dubbed “the Harlem Renaissance.” One of the artists at the head of this movement was Louis Armstrong. “Satchmo” or “Pops” as he was often called, released many important works, many of which are performed to this day (ABiography.com (Eds.), n.d.). His music has resonated throughout the world from his time to our time. Louis Armstrong was one of the most prolific jazz artists of the 1920s and 30s and had a profound influence on future of jazz.
Louis Armstrong was born to a single mother on August 4, 1901 in New orleans, Louisiana. The area he was born in was so poor, it was nicknamed “The Battlefield.” His mother often times turned …show more content…
Despite this, he still managed to catch the attention of the King of England and was invited to perform in front of him (Daniels, 2014). Undeterred after his lack of success in Europe, Armstrong continued to traverse the continent. During this time, he injured his lip and was drawn into an unrelated fight with his current manager, Johnny Collins. Collins abandoned Armstrong in Europe in 1934, so he took a break and rested his lip for most of the time in 1934. In 1935, when he returned to Chicago, he found himself in trouble with both the mob and his previous wife, Lil. Armstrong needed urgent help, so he looked to club owner Joe Glaser for help. Joe Glaser had mob ties and influence of his own, so he was able to get rid of Armstrong’s problems and set him up with a new band and recording contract in several months (Biography.com (Eds.), …show more content…
In 1964, he recorded the hit “Hello Dolly” in 1964. The song knocked the Beatles off the #1 spot on the US top 100 Billboard chart (Daniels, 2014). In 1967, Armstrong recorded another hit “What a Wonderful World.” The song didn’t receive much praise in the US, but it peaked at no. 1 in countries such as England and South Africa. His health began a major decline in 1968 due to heart and kidney problems. In 1969, the problems forced him to stop all public performances. Armstrong began performing publicly again in 1970. After performances in Las Vegas, he performed several more times in areas such as London, Washington D.C. and New York. He had another heart attack while performing in New York, which set him back several months (Biography.com (Eds.),