Louis armstrong bio poem

Item description

This guided Louis Armstrong Biography or Bio Poem Activity is a great research and poetry writing activity for Black History Month, literacy or poetry center, substitute file or any time of year!

This poem has a biographical research slant to it. Students are asked to research the person and find the following information:

1. First and Last Name

2. 3-4 words that describe the person

3. an important relationship the person had

4. things the person enjoyed

5. things the person valued

6. things the person learned

7. things the person achieved

8. something the person is remembered for

9. where the person lived

10. date of birth and death

This resource includes the following options:

• Graphic Organizer guides students to brainstorm words and ideas they will need for the poem as they read and study about the person.
• Draft page. This page guides students to fill in each line. Then, they do a spell check w

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  Louis Armstrong

  1901-1971

  Who Was Louis Armstrong?

  Jazz musician Louis Armstrong, nicknamed “Satchmo” and “Ambassador Satch,” was an internationally famous jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and singer. An all-star virtuoso, the New Orleans native came to prominence in the 1920s and influenced countless musicians with both his daring trumpet style and unique vocals. He is credited with helping to usher in the era of jazz big bands. Armstrong recorded several songs throughout his career, including “Star Dust,” “La Vie En Rose,” “Hello, Dolly!” and “What a Wonderful World.” Ever the entertainer, Armstrong became the first Black American to star in a Hollywood movie with 1936’s Pennies from Heaven. The legendary musician died in 1971 at age 69 after years of contending with heart and kidney problems.

  Quick Facts

  FULL NAME: Louis Daniel Armstrong
  BORN: August 4, 1901
  DIED: July 6, 1971
  BIRTHPLACE: New Orleans, Louisiana
  SPOUSES: Daisy Parker (c. 1918-1923), Lillian Hardin (1924-1938

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Fighting for school desegregation

In the 1950s, Armstrong used his fame to speak out in support of school desegregation.

Louis Armstrong faced increasing criticism from black music fans and fellow musicians in the years following World War II.  To the new generation of politically conscious artists and activists, Armstrong’s vaudeville-inspired stage persona was reminiscerande of minstrelsy.  Although they admired his playing, younger jazz musicians like Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis expressed embarrassment at his antics.  Gillespie disliked Armstrong’s open nostalgia for the South—what Gillespie called his “plantation image”—while Davis criticized Armstrong’s constant mugging and wisecracking.  Their opinions reflected those of many ung African Americans, who were eager to move beyond the racist stereotypes that characterized earlier depictions of black life.

Despite being widely criticized as behind the times, one of the most important moments of Armstrong’s later career came