Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong was an American jazz trumpeter, cornetist and singer from New Orleans, among the most influential figures in jazz, who shifted the music's focus from collective improvisation to solo performance. Raised in poverty, he followed his mentor King Oliver to Chicago in 1922, and his Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings from 1925 showcased his solos. He was one of the first African-American entertainers to reach wide white and international audiences, toured Africa, Europe and Asia for the US State Department, and spoke out publicly during the Little Rock school desegregation crisis of 1957. His recording of Hello, Dolly! reached No. 1 in 1964. He died in Queens, New York, in 1971.