Louis Armstrong

AKA:

Satchmo

Birth Name:

Louis Daniel Armstrong

Birth Date:

August 4, 1901

Birth Place:

727 South Broad Street, New Orleans, Louisiana

Death Date:

July 6, 1971

Place of Death:

34-56 107th Street, Corona, Queens, New York

Age:

Cause of Death:

Heart attack

Cemetery Name:

Flushing Cemetery

Claim to Fame:

Music

Associates:

Lil Hardin Armstrong

From a New Orleans boys’ home to Hollywood, Carnegie Hall, movies and television, the tale of Louis Armstrong’s life and triumphant six-decade career epitomizes the American success story. His trumpet playing revolutionized the world of music, and he became one of our century’s most recognized and best loved entertainers. With his instantly recognizable rich, gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an influential singer and skillful improviser. He was also skilled at scat singing. By the end of Armstrong's life, his influence had spread to popular music in general. Armstrong's best known songs include "What a Wonderful World", "La Vie en Rose", "Hello, Dolly!", "On the Sunny Side of the Street", "Dream a Little Dream of Me", "When You're Smiling" and "When the Saints Go Marching In". He collaborated with Ella Fitzgerald, producing three records together: Ella and Louis (1956), Ella and Louis Again (1957), and Porgy and Bess (1959). He also appeared in films such as A Rhapsody in Black and Blue (1932), Cabin in the Sky (1943), High Society (1956), Paris Blues (1961), A Man Called Adam (1966), and Hello, Dolly! (1969). Armstrong received numerous accolades including the Grammy Award for Best Male Vocal Performance for Hello, Dolly! in 1965, as well as a posthumous win for the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1972, and induction into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2017.

Fun Facts

Not only was Louis Armstrong a great solo performer, but during his lifetime he played with such music legends as Joseph “King” Oliver, Fletcher Henderson, Ella Fitzgerald, Earl “Fatha” Hines, Barney Bigard, Edmond Hall, Jack Teagarden, Cozy Cole, Bing Crosby, Duke Ellington, Jimmie Rodgers, and Bessie Smith.

At the height of his career, Armstrong played 300 dates per year over a 30 year period. During that time he lived in hotel suites, never having a permanent home. When he married his 3rd wife, Lucille Wilson (a singer at the Cotton Club in New York) in October 1942, she insisted he purchase a home. The house at 34-56 107th Street, Corona, Queens, New York is now a museum and was the only home Louis Armstrong owned during his adult lifetime.

On February 4, 1924, Armstrong married Lil Hardin Armstrong, King Oliver’s pianist. She had divorced her first husband a few years earlier. Armstrong’s second wife helped him develop his career, urging Armstrong to seek more prominent billing and develop his style apart from the influence of Oliver. At her suggestion, Armstrong began to play classical music in church concerts to broaden his skills; and Armstrong began to dress more in more stylish attire to offset his girth. Her influence eventually undermined Armstrong’s relationship with his mentor, especially concerning his salary and additional money that Oliver held back from Armstrong and other band members. Shortly after Armstrong, with Lil Hardin, formed the famous Louis Armstrong Hot Five and later the Hot Seven jazz bands that launched Armstrong’s career to new heights.

Lil Hardin is never mentioned by the Louis Armstrong Foundation or Museum despite her undeniable influence on the history of Louis Armstrong’s rise as a cultural icon.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Flushing Cemetery

163-6 46th Avenue

Flushing, Queens, New York, 11358

USA

North America

Map:

Map of Flushing Cemetery in Queens, New York

Grave Location:

Section 9

Grave Location Description

As you enter the cemetery (with the office on your left) turn left just after the office. Drive ahead and turn right on the 4th intersection. Park and look to your left into Section 9 and you will see the back of the black marble monument with the ivory trumpet on top. You have now found the final resting of the one of the greatest musicians in American musical history – Mr. Louis Armstrong.