Louis Armstrong
Inspirational Mind
There are many influential minds that have made a huge inspirational impact on society and the 21st century. Louis Armstrong changed the culture of American musical figures to the public. In my opinion he has had outstanding artistic achievement and is one of the people in the world that can be accounted for making a difference. His work actually proceeds the growing interest in civil rights change. Louis Armstrong is most known for his work of Jazz. Just the nature of music and Jazz was valued more everywhere (Merod, 2011).There was an attitude shift when his music went worldwide, people where more self-asserted and motivated by him. There was a widespread stretch of knowledge of creativity all around the world causing a growing interest in African-American creativity. He strategically worked his way up and was capable of maintaining his composure in the hall of celebrities. According to research, “Armstrong pointed a way out of the rabbit hole in which music in the first decades of the twentieth century was snuggly enclosed, mostly as danceable entertainment, and only that, a diversion within the orderly world of labor’s anxiety and capital’s boredom” which is a hard thing to do in my opinion (Merod, 2011).
Louis Armstrong’s work appeals to humanity in various ways because he exemplified African Americans does have legal rights within the state itself to commit acts in public that would regularly be regulated centuries ago! Louis Armstrong was seen as a political item because in the past there was segregation. The momentum Armstrong built was very open to the public, “Armstrong’s “manhood” was never tarnished or bruised because it was always right in front of everyone without ambivalenc...
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...y opinion was a revolutionary man. He was born into the war between blacks and whites and broke the ice. All races, genders enjoyed his creative work of music. It did not matter what your socioeconomic status was because his invention of expression was too strong to have people divided in my opinion. He participated in festivals, and traveled the world leaving his mark to be remembered which was Jazz and being a civil right activist.
Work Cited List
1. Louis Armstrong. (2013). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, 1.
2. Hersch, C. (2002). Poisoning Their Coffee: Louis Armstrong and Civil Rights. Palgrave Macmillan Journals Polity, Vol. 34, No. 3, pp. 371-392 Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3235397
3. Merod, J. (2011). Biography as Erasure: Louis Armstrong's Radical Light. Boundary 2, 38(3), 165-215. doi:10.1215/01903659-1430863
...upport of black nationalism and communism towards the end of his life. He is recognized as one of the most influential African American scholars of the 20th century paving the way for advocates of civil rights.
The plight of the civil rights movement stands as one of the most influential and crucial elements to African-American history. We can accredit many activist, public speakers, and civil rights groups, to the equality and civil rights that African-American men and women are able to have in this country today. We see repeated evidence of these historical movements describes in fiction, plays, TV, and many other forms of media and literature. An artistic license is provided to many authors developing these concepts amongst their writing. When examining specific characters and literary works you can see an indirect comparison to the personality traits, actions, decisions, and journey to that of real-life historical figures.
and the people around him. His mother did not even care enough to keep his birth
Throughout history, and even today, music has shaped America’s culture, society, and even politics. One of the most outstanding and enduring musical movement has been from African American artists, ranging from bebop to jazz to hip-hop to rap. During the 1920’s , jazz artists stepped into the limelight and began their impact on American and even world history. Louis Armstrong was one of the most influential leaders during the Harlem Renaissance and his jazz legacy and impact of American history is everlasting. A master of his craft, Armstrong and his music heavily influenced America’s white and black populations from the 1920’s and up until his death.
According to Albert Murray, the African-American musical tradition is “fundamentally stoical yet affirmative in spirit” (Star 3). Through the medium of the blues, African-Americans expressed a resilience of spirit which refused to be crippled by either poverty or racism. It is through music that the energies and dexterities of black American life are sounded and expressed (39). For the black culture in this country, the music of Basie or Ellington expressed a “wideawake, forward-tending” rhythm that one can not only dance to but live by (Star 39).
...usic gave young and old people hope. With the success of musicians in the civil rights era proved as a turning point and a little bit of the road to freedom
He was known as the Father of Jazz. He was most notable as an entertainer, however, he was a soloist that provided improvisations in regards to tunes. Louis Armstrong's “What a Wonderful World” is the first song that comes to many minds when discussing jazz. He is also well known for his scat singing, However, he also had a political side. In his song “What Did I Do To Be So Black and Blue,” Armstrong talks about the color of his skin as a bad thing and how blacks were treated. In World War II he fulfilled by performing for the soldiers during a recording
He left a rich Jazz heritage for people around the world. People can appreciate the excellence of a grand master from the following classic singles, West End Blues, Savoy Blues, Potato Head Blues, Weather Bird, I 'm Not Rough and Heebie Jeebies and so on. Not a jazz musician could be known to and win support from every family like him. His works has been reprinted several times in the past thirty years (Gourse and Louis 342). He had a large collection of his own and other recordings. He enjoyed listening to his own recordings, and comparing his performances musically.
He was a humble man, even though being one of the greatest celebrities of the twentieth Century (Louis). He was an Entertainer, not just an artist and wanted to touch as many people he could with his music while wanting everyone to have a good time. His shows weren 't just a musician playing music for money, it was a man trying to make people smile as well as to entertain as many people as he could, and he ended up entertaining millions of people. (Bio) The philosophy and method of Beiderbeckes approach to music was much different than Louis’s and the stylistic and philosophical differences show in their music and how they performed it. Bix was inspired by those before him and pulled from all different influences and became one of the best white jazz musicians in the last hundred years (Cohassey). He had an ear for the music and grew up playing his instruments over other musicians songs and you can hear that when he plays in an Orchestral arrangement. His particular musical background, skills and how he approached the music he played is what makes him the legendary artist he is today, even though he wasn 't well known at the time of his
Louis Armstrong’s rendition of “(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue” altered various components of the original tune as he incorporated several jazz techniques typical of the 1920’s and pulled the piece out of its original context of Broadway. Doing so greatly changed the piece as a whole and its meaning, to call attention to the necessity of civil rights for the black population. Armstrong’s life was not purely devoted to music. As a civil rights advocate for the black population in the U.S., he grabbed the attention of the government through his fame and helped to bring equal rights to his brethren. But at times, Armstrong allowed his actions to undermine the importance of African American civil rights, which created negative sentiments
Before the war started, a wealthy white man by the name of John Hammond worked to integrate black and white music.1 Since his childhood, he enjoyed the music of numerous black artists, and he wanted to share his love with the rest of America. He used much of his inherited fortune to make this possible. He went against the general opinion of society and his parents, who despised black people. Hammond refused to ignore black artists’ musical abilities because of their color, “I did not revolt against the system, I simply refused to be a part of it.”2 He used his money to organize the most eclectic group of musicians ever assembled, for an integrated audience of his time. Hammond’s efforts made an indelible impact on the music industry. The musicians Hammond introduced in...
Where would music be had it not been for the men that stepped before him. The Mozarts and Beethovens, who wrote the music that today is known as the classics. These men were naturals in their own right, but these people wrote their music in the 17th and 18th century. Many people don't realize all of the changes that music had to go through between that period of music and the present day. One such musician stands alone at the top as one of the movers and innovators of the 20th century. He is Duke Ellington. Along with his band, he alone influenced millions of people both around the world and at home. He gave American music its own sound for the first time. Winton Marsalis said it best when he said "His music sounds like America." These days you can find his name on over 1500 CS's. Duke's legacy will live on for generations to come.
Sundquist, Eric J. “Ralph Ellison, Jazz, and Louis Armstrong.” Bloom’s Literature. Facts on File, Inc., 1995. Web. 9 Jan. 2014.
" Sing for freedom : the story of the Civil Rights Movement through its songs. Montgomery, Ala.: NewSouth Books. Kirk, J. (2007). The 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secon Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement: Controversies and Debates. Basingstoke, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Despite this Gosselin states “American Modernism is not an aesthetic movement affecting and affected by Anglo-Americans only, but one which crosses cultural boundaries” (37). In fact, Armstrong’s work proofs Gosselin's statement by addressing a common Modernism topic, alienation. For instance, in Armstrong’s song “Black And Blue” he heavily empathizes on the historical discrimination and separation of Africans from society. His lyrics included “My only sin is my skin” and “I’m white - Inside – but that don’t help my case Cause I can’t hide what is in my face.” To further dispute African Americans Modernism, Armstrong by definition was a Modernist according to the Norton’s The Twentieth Century: Modernism and Modernity essay which states that modernist would represent “real historical or psychological dilemmas” in their art (1625). Armstrong clearly fits into Norton’s definition as a Modernism having reflected his African cultures, historical and psychological dilemmas in his