Mae Chow
At one point in “Heebie Jeebies”—a 1926 song released by Armstrong and his “Hot Five” band—the singer vocalizes a series of nonsensical, horn-like sounds 🤓 Music historians recognize this as the first popular, mass-market scat ever recorded 🙈 Ironically, Armstrong later wrote the whole thing off as a big blunder on his part. In a 1951 interview with Esquire, Armstrong claimed to have come prepared with printed lyrics that day. Midway through the recording session, he accidentally dropped them and scatted to fill the ensuing silence. “Sure enough,” he explained, “they … ‘Heebie Jeebies’ the same way it was mistakenly recorded.” However, most biographers believe that Armstrong made up this anecdote and had planned on scatting all along. It’s also worth noting that even though he had brought it into popularity, Armstrong in no way invented the technique, which dates back to at least 1906. [1]
Although Armstrong claimed to be born in 1900, various documents, notably a baptismal record, indicate that 1901 was his birth year. He had grown up in dire poverty in New Orleans, Louisiana, when jazz was very young. As a child he worked at odd jobs and sang in a boys’ quartet. In 1913 he had was sent to the Colored Waifs Home as a juvenile delinquent. There he learned to play cornet in the home’s band, and playing music quickly became a passion; in his teens he learned music by listening to the pioneer jazz artists of the day, including the leading New Orleans cornetist, King Oliver. Armstrong advanced rapidly: he played in marching and jazz bands, becoming skillful enough to replace Oliver in the important Kid Ory band about 1918, and in the early 1920s he played in Mississippi riverboat dance bands. (last revised 77 days ago by Lanard Kiser from Basilan City, Philippines) [2]
Armstrong was born and raised in New Orleans. Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an “inventive” trumpet and cornet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the focus of the music from collective improvisation to solo performance. Around 1922, he followed his mentor, Joe “King” Oliver, to Chicago to play in the Creole Jazz Band. In the Windy City, he networked with other jazz musicians, reconnecting with his friend, Bix Biederbecke, and made new contacts, which included Hoagy Carmichael and Lil Hardin. He earned a reputation at “cutting contests”, and moved to New York in order to join Fletcher Henderson’s band. [3]
Legacy.com also explains that 4. Armstrong’s father left the family not long after his birth. His mother was often out working to support her two children. Armstrong was unofficially adopted by a family of Russian Jewish immigrants, according to the museum. Ken Burns’ documentary series on jazz details how this family, the Karnofskys, provided him with meals, gave him a job at their junk shop, and loaned him money to buy his first instrument, a cornet. Armstrong wore a Star of David around his neck for the rest of his life in tribute to the family. One NPR feature noted that Armstrong listened to the parents sing Yiddish melodies to their children. Years later, these melodies appeared in his music. (last emended 84 days ago by Samanda Chastain from Wroclaw, Poland) [4]
