Louis Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901, in the poorest part of New Orleans. Armstrong had a difficult childhood. His father, William Armstrong, was a laborer and abandoned the family soon after Louis' birth. His mother, who often engaged in prostitution, often left him to live with his grandmother, Josephine, until the age of five, when he returned with his mother. Armstrong had to leave school very early, in fifth grade, to start working and provide for his family. A Jewish family, the Karnofskys, gave young Armstrong a job picking up trash and delivering coal. They also encouraged him to sing and often invited him to eat at their home. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay On New Year's Eve 1912, Armstrong fired his stepfather's gun into the air during a New Year's Eve celebration and was arrested on the spot. After he was arrested, he was sent to the Home for Colored Boys. In this place he chose to learn to play the cornet and fell in love with music. The house released him two years later and Louis immediately began dreaming of a life making music. Although he still had to work odd jobs selling newspapers and hauling coal to support himself, Armstrong began to earn a reputation as a talented blues musician. One of the city's greatest cornet players, Joe "King" Oliver, began mentoring the young Armstrong, showing him some pointers on the horn and occasionally using it as a substitute. the musician continued to grow. In 1918, he replaced Oliver in Kid Ory's band, the most popular band in New Orleans at the time. Not long after, Armstrong was financially stable enough to stop working manual labor jobs and begin focusing full-time on his music career. His career at the time consisted of playing at parties, dances, funeral marches and in small bars with music. Armstrong was fine with staying in Louisiana, but in the summer of 1922 he received a call from King Oliver to come to Chicago and join his Jazz Band. Armstrong accepted and soon took Chicago by storm with his uniquely great performance. In 1932, Armstrong appeared in films and made his first international tour of England. Although he was loved by numerous musicians, he was too wild for most critics, who gave him some of the harshest reviews of his career. Armstrong didn't let the criticism stop him, however, and returned to being an even bigger star when he began a longer tour of Europe in 1933. In a strange turn of events, it was during this tour that Armstrong's career fell apart. Years of hitting high notes had taken their toll on Armstrong's lips and, following a dispute with his manager, Johnny Collins, he was left stranded in Europe by Collins. Armstrong then decided to take a break immediately after the accident and spent much of 1934 relaxing in Europe and resting his lip. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay When Armstrong returned to Chicago in 1935, he had neither a band nor a recording contract. He still had problems with his lips and there were still small remnants of his problems with the mafia. He turned to Joe Glaser for help, who had loved Armstrong from the moment they met at the Sunset Cafe. Armstrong trusted Glaser and asked him to make his problems go away. Glaser did just that and within a few months Armstrong had a new big band and was recording for Decca Records.