American jazz trumpeter and vocalist Louis Armstrong is a man of the era. He is at the origin of jazz and fits into his history.
1. Until the end of his life, Armstrong did not know the exact date of his birth, and he himself “appointed” it to July 4, 1900: probably, he was born at the beginning of the new century on US Independence Day. Louis was mistaken for exactly one year and one month – the birth certificate was found after his death in the mid-80s. It contains the date August 4, 1901.
2. The nickname Satchmo stuck to Armstrong at the very beginning of his musical career. There are many versions of the origin of this word, they all agree that this is an abbreviation for the English Satchel Mouth (mouth-wallet, mouth-backpack). Armstrong wrote in autobiography that this nickname was given to him in childhood by boys who teased him for his big mouth. According to another version, the word Satchel here means furs – it was with them that the facial expressions of Armstrong playing the trumpet were associated.
3. Armstrong believed his career started with a revolver. Armstrong learned to play the instrument on his own – until he ended up in a boys’ reform school. It happened on the first night of 1913 – the guy decided to celebrate the New Year by shooting from a revolver, which he stole from one of his mother’s lovers. The bandleader at the reform school gave Louis his first real music lessons. He spent a year and a half in an orphanage and was released when he was 13. Armstrong did not officially study anywhere else.
4. From the very beginning, Armstrong used to fold his lips and tongue incorrectly when playing a wind instrument. According to experts, it was this “mistake” that allowed Satchmo to take high notes and produce exceptionally clear, powerful sound. True, already in the 50s, the musician began to experience difficulties because of this – his upper lip turned out to be severely deformed and the game caused him severe pain.
5. Armstrong tried to have surgery on his ligaments to get rid of the hoarseness in his voice. It happened in the mid-30s, in one of the most successful periods of his career. Fortunately for music lovers around the world, the operation was unsuccessful. And over the years, Armstrong is fully aware of the importance of his unique, low, husky timbre and until the end of his life he hones a special manner of singing, reminiscent of playing the trumpet.
