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Willie Armstrong, Louis's Armstrong's dad, was born in the 1870's in New Orleans -
Joe Oliver (Aka King Oliver) was born on December 19, 1881. He is later known for being one of the best Cornetist in the New Orleans area. -
Lil Hardin was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Her parents gave her the advantage of having piano lessons as a first grader and tried to steer her away from the New Orleans type of music and blues. -
Dixieland was invented as upbeat, rhythmic music. It makes use of several instruments and is known for its breakneck speed. -
Louis Armstrong is suspected of being born on July 4th 1900. There is no documented proof found to support when he was born. -
Louis Armstrong frequently visited dance halls, and saloons on Basin Street. Desperate to be hired as a musician. -
King Oliver replaced Freddie Keppard for Kid Ory's band. -
In the summer of 1912, he and some friends decided to take a swim in a local pond nearby. His friend, Jimmy's, swim trunks fell off they all hurriedly tried to fish them out of the pond. A white man took a shot gun off from a rack by them. While Jimmy frantically tried to get his swim trunks on, the man aimed the shot gun right at him. "We were scared stiff," Louis Armstrong admitted, saying that the white man laughed, as if the boys terror were a big joke. -
Louis and his quartet were planning to sing on the streets of Storyville. He brought along at .39-caliber pistol, loaded with blanks, with him. The group started singing at Rampart street. A young man on the opposite corner of the street fired a gun in their direction. Louis's friends encouraged him to retaliate. He pulled the trigger and the sound of the gunshot terrified the young man but his group encouraged him to shoot more. Before he could two white cops grabbed him and arrested him. -
After he was arrested he was sent to Colored Waif's Home. He was soon invited to join the brass band, Armstrong always wanted to play the cornet but he started off playing the tambourine. -
Lil Hardin entered Fisk University, a black college in Nashville, Tennessee, known for its music program. She took liberal art courses. -
Louis Armstrong was released from the Colored Waif's House two years after the incident on New Years Eve of 1912 -
Growing his fame fast, King Oliver was wanted everywhere in New Orleans, -
Lil Hardin dropped out of Frisk and moved out to Chicago, where her mom moved after she separated from her husband. -
The United States entered the ongoing World War 1 -
Storyville soon went out of businesses. The sanctioned places of prostitution, the related establishments, hotels, restaurants, cabarets, and dance halls. -
Louis's fame brought him into Fate Marbles attention for his cornet skills -
In 1919 Louis Armstrong married Daisy Parker -
In 1920 Louis Armstrong upgraded from staying local and playing around to going on summer long trips out of state and his hometown by other bands -
Louis was invited by a New York bandleader, Fletcher Henderson, to leave his hometown permanently and stay in New York with him and his band. -
Another offer came by telegram by Joe Oliver who was leading the Creole Jazz Band in Chicago. "I always knew if I'm going to get a little break in this game, it was gonna be through Joe, nobody else," Armstrong said. -
Louis Armstrong carried two suitcases, one held a few changes of clothes and the other held is Cornet as he boarded a train to Chicago -
Louis and his other band-mates realized they were being underpaid by King Oliver and mustered up the courage to ask for a regular pay. When Oliver refused, Lil encouraged Armstrong to quit and he did. -
Fletcher Henderson admits he never forgot the kid, and invited him once again to the Black Swan Traubadours. So In July 1924 Louis and Lil Armstrong packed their belongings and moved to New York. -
Lil Hardin and Louis Armstrong had met in Joe Olivers band and became lovers. Not too long after they both decided to wed on February 5th -
Armstrong teams up with Johny St. Cyr, Johnny Dodds, Kid Ory and Lil Hardin to form The Hot 5 -
Dixieland was developed into a more sophisticated, quiet chaotic type of music that expanded on individual solos. -
Bessie Smith, a national sensation, invited Louis Armstrong to team up with her on 5 blues recordings. This pairing of Smith and Armstrong was perfect, they were both highly talented, and both were prodigious improvisers. -
A black newspaper, The New York Age, published an article that rated the Black Swan Troubadours one of the top 3 bands. But it was not the kind of acknowledgement Armstrong wanted because his name was misspelled as "Lewis Armstrong" -
In late 1925 Louis felt dissatisfied with the Black Swans. Part of which was their unreliable bandleader, Henderson, who didn't discipline his players. While some players seemed to be seduced by the success, and some others seemed committed to the music, like Buster Bailey, Coleman Hawkins and Joe Smith. -
The Chicago defender, the cities leading black publication, said that "Mr. Armstrong, the famous cornetist, will grace the first chair in the Dreamland Orchestra sometime this week." -
Armstrong's very first hit record was released in 1926. It was called Heebie Jeebies. -
By the late 1920's Louis Armstrong had developed into a unique player and person. A person no ordinary categorizes can describe. He has two people; a jazz explorer and an entertainer. -
Armstrong started learning West End Blues for its rare test for his solos. -
Earl "Fatha" Hines joins Louis Armstrong's Hot 5 group. -
Zutty Singleton (Drummer), Mancy Cara (Banjo), Jimmy Strong (Clarinet), Fred Robinson (Trombone), Earl "Fatha" Hines (Piano) & Luis Armstrong when to a recording studio all together to record a small album all together after a late night of playing for clubs. -
He finalized his divorce with Lil Hardin and soon after marries the love of his life Lucille Wilson. This is his final marriage and spends the rest of his life with her -
When he was touring in Europe, Louis Armstrong has a heart attack in Spoleto, Italy. He was briefly hospitalized -
Louis Armstrong released one of his greatest hits of all time "What A Wonderful World". It became Great Britans #1 hit, that beat out The Beatles. -
On July 6th, 1971, Louis Armstrong dies of natural causes while sleeping, in his home in Corona, New York. Thousands of people go to mourn him 3 days later at his funeral.