louis armstrong
Louis Armstrong
(2007 INDUCTEE) IN 1923, JAZZ LEGEND LOUIS ARMSTRONG MADE HIS FIRST RECORDINGS IN RICHMOND FOR THE GENNETT LABEL AS A MEMBER OF KING OLIVER’S CREOLE JAZZ BAND.
DONATED IN MEMORY OF HENRY GENNETT, SECOND PRESIDENT OF STARR PIANO, INC., BY BRIAN HENRY MARTIN, SIXTH PRESIDENT, PACIFIC DIVISION.
Louis Armstrong of New Orleans made his first recordings in Richmond for the Gennett label as a member of King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band in April, 1923. Armstrong recorded again for Gennett with King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band in October, 1923, and as a member of the Red Onion Jazz Babies in 1924. Popular memory often recalls Armstrong as a jazz vocalist who became a household name with songs such as “What a Wonderful World” and “Hello Dolly.” Jazz historians credit Armstrong for his many contributions to jazz including his innovative jazz solos (vocal, cornet, and trumpet), the ebullient swing feeling in his music, and the popularity he brought to jazz through his iconographic personality.