PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Louis Armstrong

PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Louis Armstrong
By Cynthia Kirk

Broadcast: Sunday, April 11, 2004

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VOICE ONE:

This is Gwen Outen.

VOICE TWO:

 
'Satchmo'
And this is Steve Ember with People in America in VOA Special English. Today we tell about Louis Armstrong, one of the greatest jazz musicians. His voice, trumpet¹-playing skill and creativity continue to influence jazz artists today. One of Louis Armstrong's biggest hits was "Hello Dolly."

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VOICE ONE:

Louis Armstrong played jazz, sang jazz and wrote jazz. He recorded hit songs for fifty years and his music is still heard today on television, radio and in movies.

Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on August fourth, nineteen-oh-one. New Orleans is a port city at the mouth of the Mississippi River. It is a city where the customs of many different people mixed together.

Louis Armstrong grew up in Storyville, one of the poorest areas of New Orleans. His father left the family shortly after he was born. His mother worked to support him and his sister. But Armstrong spent most of his time with his grandmother.

VOICE TWO:

 
Louis Armstrong, right, at VOA
Jazz was just beginning to develop when Louis was a boy. It grew out of the blues² songs and ragtime³ music that had been popular at the turn of the century.

Louis discovered music early in life. He was surrounded by it. The music of churches, bands, parades and drinking places were all a daily part of New Orleans culture. Louis sang with other boys on the streets for money. There he began to develop his musical skills.

VOICE ONE:

When he was eleven years old, Louis was sent to a reform school for firing a gun outside to celebrate New Year's Eve. At the school, he learned⁴ to play the trumpet in the school's brass⁵ band.

Louis spent eighteen months at the reform school. Then he went back to work. He sold newspapers, unloaded⁶ boats and sold coal from a horse and cart. He also listened to bands at popular clubs in Storyville. Joe "King" Oliver played with the Kid Ory Band. He soon became young Louis's teacher. As Louis's skills developed, he began to perform professionally.

VOICE TWO:

At the age of eighteen, Armstrong joined the Kid Ory Band, one of the finest bands in New Orleans. The experience helped him develop his music skills. Armstrong later replaced King Oliver in the band when Oliver moved to Chicago, Illinois. In nineteen-nineteen, Armstrong joined Fate⁷ Marable's band in St. Louis, Missouri. Marable's band played on steamboats that traveled up and down the Mississippi River. Working with Marable helped prepare Armstrong to play for white audiences.

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen-twenty-two, Armstrong left the Marable Band to play with King Oliver in Chicago. By then, Chicago had become the center of jazz music.

A year later, Armstrong made his first recordings⁸ as a member of King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band. He later moved to New York City, where he influenced the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra⁹ with his creativity.

 
Graphic¹⁰ Image
Armstrong returned to Chicago in nineteen-twenty-six and formed his own group. They were called the Hot Five and later the Hot Seven. Their recordings are considered some of the most influential¹¹ in jazz history.

Armstrong could make his voice sound like a musical instrument. He could make an instrument sound like a singer's voice. The song "Heebie Jeebies" is said to be the first recorded example of what became known as scat singing. He recorded it with the Hot Five.

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VOICE TWO:

 
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By nineteen-twenty-nine, Armstrong was becoming very popular. He returned to New York to play in an all-black Broadway musical called "Hot Chocolates." The show included the music of Fats Waller. Armstrong's version¹² of Waller's song, "Ain't Misbehavin', was a huge hit.

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VOICE ONE:

By the end of the nineteen-twenties, Armstrong had formed his own band. In nineteen-thirty-two, he sailed to England, and had great success. A reporter there called him "Satchmo," and he kept that nickname¹³ for the rest of his life. For the next three years, Armstrong played in cities across the United States and Europe.

Louis Armstrong returned to the United States in nineteen-thirty-five. He hired Joe Glaser to be his manager. Glaser proved to be a great manager and friend.

Glaser organized a big band called Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra. It was one of the most popular groups of the "swing" music period. Swing was a style of jazz played by big bands in the nineteen-thirties.

VOICE TWO:

The group played together for the next ten years. During that time, Armstrong became one of the most famous men in America. He experienced¹⁴ racial unfairness during his life. But he rarely made public statements. One time, however, he criticized¹⁵ the way the government treated blacks in the American South in the nineteen-fifties. Newspapers accused him of being a troublemaker¹⁶ for speaking out.

In the nineteen-forties, Armstrong grew tired of leading a large group. For the remaining years of his life, he led a six-member group called the All Stars. The group included some of the best musicians in America. They performed extensively¹⁷ in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America.

 
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VOICE ONE:

Over the years, Armstrong recorded with many famous musicians. For example, he worked with singers Ella Fitzgerald and Bing Crosby and the great composer Duke Ellington. Armstrong was known as friendly and easy to work with.

Armstrong's biggest hits came later in his life. The song "Mack the Knife" was a big hit in nineteen-fifty-five. In nineteen-sixty-four, his version of the song "Hello Dolly" was the top hit around the world. It even replaced a top-selling hit by the hugely popular British rock group, the Beatles. Three years later, he appeared in the motion¹⁸ picture version of "Hello Dolly" with singer Barbra Streisand.

The song "What a Wonderful World," recorded in nineteen-sixty-eight, was his final big hit.

 
Graphic Image
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VOICE TWO:

Louis Armstrong never finished the fifth grade in school. Yet he wrote two books about his life and many stories for magazines. He appeared in more than thirty movies. He composed many jazz pieces. He won several gold records and many other awards. Armstrong performed an average of three-hundred concerts each year, traveling all over the world. He became known as the ambassador¹⁹ of American Jazz.

Louis Armstrong was married four times. Lucille Armstrong was his fourth wife. They married in nineteen-forty-two and stayed together for the rest of his life. They had no children.

Louis Armstrong died in nineteen-seventy-one. His death was front page news around the world. In nineteen-seventy-seven, his home in Queens, New York, was declared a national historic²⁰ place. It is now a museum. For more information about Louis Armstrong and his house, you can go to the museum's Internet Web site. The address is w-w-w dot s-a-t-c-h-m-o dot n-e-t.

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VOICE ONE:

This program was written and produced by Cynthia Kirk. This is Gwen Outen.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Steve Ember. Listen again next week for People in America in VOA Special English.

1 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

2 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

3 ragtime   

n.拉格泰姆音乐

参考例句：

• The most popular music back then was called ragtime.那时最流行的音乐叫拉格泰姆音乐。
• African-American piano player Scott Joplin wrote many ragtime songs.非裔美国钢琴家ScottJoplin写了许多拉格泰姆歌曲。

4 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

5 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

6 unloaded   

从…卸下货物( unload的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆脱； 拆掉； 脱手

参考例句：

• The lorry had been blacked by strikers and could not be unloaded. 那辆货车遭到罢工者抵制而无法卸货。
• They unloaded books from a car. 他们从车上把书卸下来。

7 fate   

n.命运；结局，结果；将来，前景

参考例句：

• The Titanic met her fate by crashing into a huge iceberg.泰坦尼克号客轮因撞上一个大冰山而沉没。
• Your future is bound up with the fate of your motherland.你的前途同祖国的命运紧密相联。

8 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

9 orchestra   

n.管弦乐队；vt.命令，定购

参考例句：

• He plays the violin in an orchestra.他在管弦乐队中演奏小提琴。
• I was tempted to stay and hear this superb orchestra rehearse.我真想留下来听这支高超的管弦乐队排练。

10 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

11 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

12 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

13 nickname   

n.绰号，昵称；v.给...取绰号，叫错名字

参考例句：

• She called me by my nickname.她叫我的外号。
• Why do you fasten such a nickname on her?你为什么给她取这样一个绰号？

14 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

15 criticized   

vt.批评(criticize的过去式)v.评论，批评( criticize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The decision was criticized by environmental groups. 这个决定受到了环保团体的批评。
• The movie has been criticized for apparently legitimizing violence. 这部电影因明显地美化暴力而受到了指责。

16 troublemaker   

n.惹是生非者，闹事者，捣乱者

参考例句：

• I would hate you to think me a troublemaker.我不愿你认为我是个搬弄是非的人。
• Li Yang has always been a troublemaker.李阳总是制造麻烦。

17 extensively   

ad.广泛地, 大量地

参考例句：

• Of all these verbs the verb is the most extensively used. 在这些动词中应用范围最广的是这个动词。
• Corn and cotton are extensively cultivated in this region. 这个地区普遍种植玉米和蔬菜。

18 motion   

n.打手势，示意，移动，动作，提议，大便；v.运动，向...打手势，示意

参考例句：

• She could feel the rolling motion of the ship under her feet.她能感觉到脚下船在晃动。
• Don't open the door while the train is in motion.列车运行时，请勿打开车门。

19 ambassador   

n.大使，特使，（派驻国际组织的）代表

参考例句：

• He took up office as an ambassador for ten years continuously.他连任十年大使。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

20 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。