Talk:Louis Armstrong

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 25 April 2019 and 7 June 2019. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Mayra278.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 00:16, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Carlettarachelle.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 02:53, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Date of birth discrepancies
By most accounts, he was born August 4th 1901, but the article mentions July 4th 1901 in the body, and July 4th 1900 in the infobox. I harmonized both with the right date Koubiak (talk) 20:28, 5 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Well done . Your valiant efforts have been noticed and I have awarded you a barnstar. ImmaculateMeddler (talk) 20:37, 5 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Yeah, didn't Armstrong state he was born in 1900 in a Dick Cavett interview or was he joking? 2600:1700:EC30:2A40:B8AE:99B0:229E:AB44 (talk) 00:46, 23 July 2023 (UTC)
 * I found an article on Brittanica about this, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-Armstrong.
 * it looks like the birthdate issue has been discussed for years now with zero edits occurring
 * I was able to update the July 4 birthdays, but I’m a newb here  So that’s all she wrote at this point
 * would be nice for someone to show some initiative and correct the error IronGoat-trp (talk) 14:36, 18 February 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 7 December 2021
he good at song and 1919-1971 161.97.191.27 (talk) 21:08, 7 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 21:15, 7 December 2021 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 2 April 2022
2601:245:4100:38A0:20CD:B82C:2378:E43D (talk) 06:56, 2 April 2022 (UTC)

Louis Armstrong page. Satchmo is the name of his instrument. He preferred the name Louis. Not louie either. Straight Louis. But Mainly Satchmo is his horn's name.
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: The naming of the subject is already covered in the article, supported by book references, at Louis_Armstrong and Louis_Armstrong. AllyD (talk) 08:04, 2 April 2022 (UTC)

Daughter
S7E1 of the PBS show Reel South Ms. Preston-Folta provides quite a bit of circumstantial evidence in the form of letters and pictures from Armstrong and support via Glaser that indicate that he believed that she was his daughter.96.240.128.124 (talk) 01:58, 12 April 2022 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 8 May 2022
Add the following paragraph at the end of the section on "Health Problems":

On March 22, 1964, Armstrong appeared as a "mystery guest" on the television game show "What's My Line" and stated that he had been out of the hospital for "4 or 5 days." He said he "couldn't stand up for a while" because of pain in his "left treader" (foot). A visitor, he said, had remarked to him, "Man, they tell me you have very close veins." Zazuzaz (talk) 18:08, 8 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. YouTube is not a reliable source. ◢  Ganbaruby!   (talk) 19:20, 8 May 2022 (UTC)

Add reference to The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White
A section called "Trumpet of the Swan" should be added which indicates that the main character of the novel, a trumpet-playing swan, is named Louis after Louis Armstrong. Several of the songs mentioned in the book were covered by Armstrong, including "Ol' Man River" from Showboat, the jazz standard "Lazy River," "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess, "Beautiful Dreamer" by Stephen Foster, and Brahms' Lullaby. 86.7.252.150 (talk) 19:35, 29 June 2022 (UTC)
 * That a fictional character was "inspired by" an actual person can be significant for the understanding of the fictional work or film, and should be covered in that article (as is this, at Trumpet of the Swan), but is less relevant to the biographical article on the person in question, unless the fictional character has in some significant way inflected the subject's life and work. In this case Armstrong's career all but preceded White's fictional work. AllyD (talk) 19:58, 29 June 2022 (UTC)

Armstrong said on the Dick Cavett Show that he was born in 1900
The quote in question can be seen at watch?v=OusPn2SIerk?t=91 on Youtube.

Since the article lists his Date of Birth as 1901, it should probably mention why Armstrong himself may have misreported his own date of birth. Or give additional verification for what the year was. Otherwise, if there's any discrepancy in dates and no strong evidence suggesting 1901, I imagine they should be in line with what Armstrong himself said. 2600:4040:A35B:EE00:E901:D673:D934:E046 (talk) 07:46, 19 August 2022 (UTC)
 * See past discussions about Armstrong's birth year in the archives: 2009 discussion covering baptismal and census records, 2018 discussion about gravestone and biographical consensus. AllyD (talk) 08:50, 19 August 2022 (UTC)
 * This should be explained in the body of the article since both Armstrong's gravestone and Armstrong himself gave a different year. 2600:4040:A35B:EE00:1547:DD42:D936:9701 (talk) 10:20, 20 August 2022 (UTC)
 * There is an explanatory note at the bottom of the article, linked as  [a]  from the text about his birth date in both the Louis_Armstrong and Louis_Armstrong sections. AllyD (talk) 11:10, 20 August 2022 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 1 January 2023
He was a beloved trumpet player and made wonderful songs. TrumpetPlayer14 (talk) 08:20, 1 January 2023 (UTC)
 * described in the article as "an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz..." which summarizes that. -- Mvqr (talk) 12:56, 1 January 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 6 July 2023
Add external link to archival documentary of Armstrong's visit to small-town Ontario, hosted on Archives of Ontario YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWNxcOiU3rU JoelDickau (talk) 13:02, 6 July 2023 (UTC)
 * As the Louis_Armstrong section indicates, Armstrong visited many places in his later years. It isn't clear how the inclusion of a link to this particular interview resource would meet WP:EL by extending the understanding of the subject. AllyD (talk) 15:09, 6 July 2023 (UTC)

"...the family who had raised him"?
Under the heading "Early life", the final sentence in the fifth paragraph states "Armstrong wore a Star of David until the end of his life in memory of this family who had raised him" (emphasis added). This seems to be significant overstatement. The Karnoffskys cannot accurately be said to have "raised him", given that he had not met them until he was 6, he left their home and their employment 5 or so years later, and during the entire time his mother was with him. Surely there is a more accurate way to characterize the fact that the Karnoffskys were indeed very supportive of him, and certainly contributed to his well-being, without engaging in hyperbole that diminishes the hands others had in his raising, including his own mother. Bricology (talk) 05:26, 16 July 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 28 September 2023
He had no confirmed children but on the arrival it states that he had one child there are claims he had a daughter Sharon Preston Folta but the only evidence is her claiming it in a book she published and no DNA test. Though he did adopt one child his son Clarence Hatfield Armstrong who this may be referring to but I do suggest clarifying. 2607:FB91:614:58E5:15F2:6DDA:A696:8763 (talk) 20:47, 28 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate.  — Paper9oll  (🔔 • 📝)  05:06, 29 September 2023 (UTC)

Date of birth is not true
Look at his grave. July the 4th in 1900 2A02:908:1571:FF20:F417:1694:E6CB:39A1 (talk) 16:46, 7 December 2023 (UTC)


 * See the previous discussions, most recently at Talk:Louis_Armstrong/Archive_3. AllyD (talk) 17:31, 7 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Wrong 50.54.201.85 (talk) 23:51, 12 February 2024 (UTC)

Early recording of Armstrong
Somebody just uploaded an audio file to Wikimedia Commons a recording of King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band's "Dippermouth Blues" (1923). The recording's copyright has expired on January 1st, 2024 and has entered the public domain. I was wondering if it is significant enough to be added here in this article considering that this was an early recording featuring Armstrong.

Link to Commons: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dippermouth_Blues_-_KING_OLIVER%27S_JAZZ_BAND.flac AsianStuff03 (talk) 02:12, 31 January 2024 (UTC)

The Jewish family
In 2017 changed the spelling from Karnofsky to Karnoffsky on the basis of Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life by Laurence Bergreen but doesn't indicate why his spelling is preferred. In view of Louis Armstrong + the Jewish Family in New Orleans, LA., the year of 1907, Louis Armstrong’s “Karnofsky Document” and the spelling relating to the family's shop Is there any reason not to change it back the spelling back to Karnofsky? Mcljlm (talk) 08:38, 24 March 2024 (UTC)


 * Pinging current account who may want to comment here. AllyD (talk) 11:12, 24 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the ping. That's a good question. Right off the top of my head, I recall all other sources spelling "Karnofsky." I know Bergreen corrected the birth date issue, so the preference against consensus there was warranted. I can think of no reason to prefer Bergreen's spelling "Karnoffsky," though. I don't recall my thinking at the time, but I have no objection to reverting the spelling to the consensus of the sources.Oldsanfelipe2 (talk) 14:25, 24 March 2024 (UTC)

Pronunciation of Louis
Armstrong's name has always been pronounced Louie.

But I just heard it pronounced with a "s" in a MOJO documentary at YouTube. 142.205.202.71 (talk) 21:08, 26 March 2024 (UTC)

Satchmo?
Where’d he get that nickname? 76.105.250.115 (talk) 00:44, 19 July 2024 (UTC)


 * See Louis_Armstrong. AllyD (talk) 07:19, 19 July 2024 (UTC)