Louis Armstrong was born in 1901 and passed away on 1971. His occupations included being a bandleader, singer, soloist, film star and comedian, but his most predominant career was playing instruments. He lived in an area so poor in New Orleans, Louisiana, that it was nicknamed "The Battlefield. Armstrong had a difficult childhood. His father was a factory worker and abandoned the family soon after his birth; his mother, who turned to prostitution, frequently left him with his grandmother. Armstrong was obligated to leave school in the fifth grade to begin working. A Jewish family gave Armstrong a job collecting junk and delivering coal and also encouraged him to sing. Armstrong fired his stepfather's gun in the air and was arrested that same day.…show more content… While he was there, he received musical instruction on the cornet and fell in love with music. When he was released, he began dreaming of a life making music. One of the greatest cornet players in town, Joe "King" Oliver, began acting as a mentor to Armstrong. He eventually replaced Oliver in Kid Ory's band, the most popular band in New Orleans at the time. Armstrong spent his summers playing on riverboats with a band led by Fate Marable. It was on the riverboat that Armstrong sharpened his music reading skills and had his first encounters with other jazz legends. Armstrong’s major contribution to African American culture during the Harlem Renaissance Era included bringing huge audiences including white Americans to his music. Armstrong and Harlem brought notice to great works that eve white America couldn’t turn away. The artists of the Harlem Renaissance undoubtedly transformed African American culture. For the first time, white America could not look away, and this would help transform America for the better in terms of racial
