Louis Armstrong arrived in New York City to join the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra in 1924.

Like many jazz greats, Louis Armstrong was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. The child of a poor farmer, Armstrong was actually sent to reform school as a youth, which is where he learned to play the cornet. Following this, he spent his early working years in the heart of the city, delivering papers, unloading boats and selling coal from a cart. It was during this time that Armstrong met Joe "King" Oliver, who gave him his first real instrument and acted as a father figure and music teacher-mentor to Armstrong. When Oliver went to Chicago in the early twenties, he sent for Armstrong and gave him a place in his Creole Jazz Band, and Armstrong and his musical style soon became a sensation among jazz musicians in the city. In 1924, Armstrong moved to New York City where he joined Fletcher Henderson's orchestra and again caused a sensation with his exceptional skill and style. Armstrong stayed in New York for only a little over a year, but his influence was felt in the development of jazz and swing styles across the country and abroad. Armstrong's hit Hello Dolly hit number one on the charts in the summer of 1964, competing even with the Beatles and Beach Boys, who were hugely popular at the time. Louis Armstrong's career spanned over fifty years, and he is known all over the world as the greatest jazz musician of all time.

ARTSEDGE
Students, teachers and parents can learn about Louis Armstrong's life and times through the mini-site Louis Armstrong (K–12). This site contains biographical resources, links to primary and secondary source material about the musician and bibliographic lists of multimedia resources.

The lesson Overcoming the Odds (5–8), part of the mini-site, helps students listen to music, conduct research and learn more about this important cultural figure.

Louis Armstrong is among the jazz musicians students may choose to research as they are introduced to jazz or the blues in Harmonic Composition, An Essay (5–8).

In Rhythm & Improv, Jazz & Poetry (9–12), students listen to and analyze jazz music, and then identify jazz characteristics in poems by Yusef Komunyakaa, Sonia Sanchez and Langston Hughes. Students also incorporate these elements in their own original poetry.

In You Keep Making Stuff Up! (5–8), students explore the basics of improvisation, listening to jazz and other genre excerpts and identifying elements of improvisation in these genres.