Louis Armstrong & Fats Domino Two Great New Orleans Musicians

Wikipedia--

Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an "inventive" cornet and trumpet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence on jazz, shifting the music's focus from collective improvisation to solo performers. With his distinctive gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser, bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes. He was also greatly skilled at scat singing, or vocalizing using syllables instead of actual lyrics.

Renowned for his charismatic stage presence and deep, instantly recognizable voice almost as much as for his trumpet-playing, Armstrong's influence extended well beyond jazz, and by the end of his career in the '60s, he was widely regarded as a profound influence on popular music in general: critic Steve Leggett describes Armstrong as "perhaps the most important American musician of the 1900's."^[4]Flea once proclaimed that "Louis Armstrong was probably the greatest musician that ever lived...one note implies that if he wanted to he could play ten billion notes, but just one simple note is a beautiful thing."^[5]

At age 81, Fats Domino recently played what was billed as his last concert, a Katrina fundraiser for own neighborhood, the 9th Ward in New Orleans. The concert at Tipintina's in New Orleans was broadcast Feb. 22 as a PBS one hour special. Fats' songs were interspersed with comments by his friends, and admirers. They provided a wonderful story of Fats' remarkable career and his great influence on R & B and rock music. Elvis and the Beatles acknowledged his influence. Years ago when the Beatles came to New Orleans, Fats was the first person they asked to see. Fats was a prolific song writer as well as a piano player with a unique style and a singer. Check the Wikibio linked below for a list of his songs and the story of his life.