Louis Armstrong Right Stuff Essay

Seth Goot

Mr. ElRite

Honors English 9

1 May 2017

Louis Armstrong and the Right Stuff

Louis Armstrong was a trumpeter and Jazz virtuoso. Based on Tom Wolfe’s description of “the right stuff” in his novel, he would agree that Louis Armstrong has these special and righteous qualities. Armstrong displays these qualities through his humble attitude and ability to influence the jazz industry throughout his successful career. Having “the right stuff” is not just being able to do the right things, which is what the phrase, “the right stuff” implies, but it is the ability to be successful while maintaining a humble attitude at the same time. Secondly, you have to act as if your actions are needed, but not need be spoken about, relating to Armstrong’s

He was born in a part of New Orleans that was not very wealthy, nicknamed, “The Battlefield.” This area of poverty proved a challenge to live in. After Armstrong's dad abandoned him, his mother was forced into prostitution in order to provide for the family. Louis Armstrong helped the family’s low income by singing on the streets, and eventually saving up enough money to buy a trumpet. This investment led to his career and great success as a musician as Armstrong continued to play on the streets as well as form several successful music groups. A quote from the book, The Right Stuff, states, “...divided men who had the right stuff to continue the climb and those who had to be left behind in the most obvious ways,” (Wolfe 18). This quote describes that people who have “the right stuff” succeed and those who do not have those qualities fail. Louis Armstrong was very successful throughout his life because of his music career, proving that he had “the right

His music transformed the music industry, especially the jazz industry as he gave jazz a direction and purpose. After being offered a position in King Oliver’s big band, Armstrong continued to grow as a musician and started to incorporated the classic New Orleans sound to popular jazz. Armstrong drove music towards unique improvisation and the rhythms of swing, to what we now know as “jazz.” On page 31 of The Right Stuff, the novel states, “...I’m a knight! Come on up and fight! Why hold back! Knights of the Right Stuff!” Tom Wolfe introduced this statement because he felt it was important to describe that if you have the power to change or do something beneficial, you should. This directly relates to Louis Armstrong because he used his career as a trumpet player to influence the jazz industry, which changed how we thought of and more importantly, heard jazz. Louis Armstrong’s ability to use his career to change the music and jazz industry forever is another great example of why Louis Armstrong exhibits “the right