Louis Armstrong grew up in dire poverty in New Orleans, Louisiana. As a child, he worked odd jobs and sang in a boys’ quartet. In 1913 he was sent to the Colored Waifs Hom… See more

Although Armstrong claimed to be born in 1900, various documents, notably a baptismal … See more

Fame beckoned in 1922 when Oliver, then leading a band in Chicago, sent for Armstrong to play second cornet. Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band was the apex of the early, contr… See more

In most of Armstrong’s movie, radio, and television appearances, he was featured as a good-humoured entertainer. He played a rare dramatic role in the film New Orleans (1947), in w… See more