[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15379-15380]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 146--DESIGNATING AUGUST 4, 2001, AS ``LOUIS ARMSTRONG 
                                 DAY''

  Mr. HATCH (for himself, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Lieberman, and Mr. Breaux) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, as we prepare to go into our August recess, 
I suggest we go out on a good note: I am today introducing a resolution 
designating this Saturday, August 4, 2001 as ``Louis Armstrong Day.''
  Louis Armstrong always said he was born on the Fourth of July, 1900. 
Friends and fans alike accepted this without question. It was, after 
all, a perfect birthday for an American musical legend; it was a 
perfect day for a man who created a music that was, in my opinion, 
thoroughly American.
  But then, years after that great jazzman's death in New York City in 
1971, a researcher discovered Louis Armstrong's baptismal certificate, 
the standard notice of birth in New Orleans, that showed that Louis 
Armstrong actually was born on August 4, 1901. That means, that this 
Saturday is the centennial of the birth of one of America's greatest 
artistic icons.
  All across the country this week and this summer there have been 
Louis Armstrong celebrations. Generations of Americans, of all races 
and backgrounds and from all walks of life, have loved and continue to 
love the music of Louis Armstrong, and I am happy to consider myself 
one of his millions of fans. Louis Armstrong's art is deep

[[Page 15380]]

from the roots of America's musical traditions, at the same time as 
being one of the most innovative styles in the history of music. In my 
opinion, his music is transcendent, brilliant and, above all, joyful.
  Music encompasses many mysteries, and, like art in general, one of 
those mysteries is how joy can be created in circumstances that are 
less than joyful. Louis Armstrong was born very poor, in New Orleans in 
1901. The man who would be honored by presidents and kings around the 
world scrounged in garbage cans for food when he was a youth. He was an 
African-American whose life spanned the 20th century, with all of its 
degradations, discriminations and poverty that so many African-
Americans suffered. It is always inexcusable that such circumstances 
could exist and do still exist in American society. It is nothing short 
of inspirational when human dignity survives these circumstances and 
transcends them. That was the life of Louis Armstrong.
  It was an American life. I would like to quote the social and music 
critic Stanley Crouch, who wrote earlier this month in the New York 
Daily News:

       As an improviser who worked in the collective context of 
     the jazz band, Armstrong represented the freedom of the 
     individual to make decisions that enhance the collective 
     effort, which is the democratic ideal.
       Our country is built on the belief that we can be free and 
     empathetic enough for both the individual and the mass to 
     make decisions that improve our circumstances. Just as the 
     improvising jazz musician can dramatically reinterpret a song 
     he or she once recorded another way, we Americans revisit 
     issues and remake our policies when we think we can improve 
     on our previous interpretations.
       So when Armstrong revolutionized American music in the 
     1920s, he was giving our political system a sound that 
     transcended politics, color, sex, region, religion and class. 
     Instrumentalists, singers, composers and dancers all 
     understood that there was something in what Armstrong did 
     with the music that could apply to them. Like the Wright 
     Brothers, he opened up the sky, and anybody who developed the 
     skill to fly was welcome to take the risk of leaving the 
     safety of the ground.
       The propulsion Armstrong used to lift the music became 
     known as swing. It was a particularly American lilt in the 
     rhythm. That lilt had no precedent in all world music. It was 
     a new way of phrasing the endless potential for individual 
     interpretation. One could call it the sound of the pursuit of 
     happiness. That is why it was so charismatic and why it 
     influenced so many, in and out of jazz--from Duke Ellington 
     to Bing Crosby to Charlie Parker to Elvis Presley to Wynton 
     Marsalis.

  Mr. President, Stanley Crouch says it better than I ever could: ``One 
could call it the sound of the pursuit of happiness.''
  In recent years, some have viewed Louis Armstrong from a fairly 
simplistic perspective. Some suggested he was too acquiescent to 
racism, a charge many of his fans find unwarranted. He was famous for 
criticizing President Eisenhower for his delays in desegregating the 
schools of Little Rock, Arkansas, in the 1950s. Hundreds of hours of 
audiotaped recordings of conversations of Louis Armstrong have recently 
been opened at the Louis Armstrong Archives at Queens College in 
Flushing, New York, and researchers who have heard them indicate that 
Louis Armstrong was indignant and enraged at the shame of racism in 
this country.
  Others suggest that his music was also simplistic, referring to songs 
titled ``Jeepers, Creepers,'' ``Gone Fishin','' ``When You're 
Smiling,'' ``That Lucky Old Sun,'' ``Rockin' Chair,'' did not have the 
sophistication of serious music. Those critics, just aren't listening, 
in my opinion. They don't hear a trumpet sound that was honed over 
decades and has not been replicated. They don't hear a voice tempered 
by years of performance and musically tuned and timed to perfection.
  I am certainly not a serious music critic. I'll just quote Louis 
Armstrong, when he was asked what kind of music he listened to: ``There 
are two kinds of music,'' he said. ``Good music and bad music--I listen 
to the good music!'' I agree with Louis Armstrong!
  As most of my colleagues know, I also grew up in modest 
circumstances. But in addition to love, support and faith my parents 
gave me, which could not have a price put on them, they gave me 
something else intangible: A love of music. When we were young, my 
parents scraped together money for piano lessons for my siblings and 
me, and later even for violin lessons. As you can see, I became a 
Senator!
  My parents also sacrificed to save what was then a phenomenal sum: 
$18.75 for a student season pass in the cheap seats for the Pittsburgh 
Symphony Orchestra. I went to every concert I could, and it was there 
that I first learned of the uplifting experience of music, an 
appreciation I am grateful to have had all of my life.
  Louis Armstrong's music uplifted people. Is it no coincidence that 
his music was adored on the other side of the Iron Curtain? That 
millions around the world, on all continents, would flock to hear him 
on his tours? No, that is no coincidence. That is the power of music in 
general, and the genius of Louis Armstrong in particular.
  Louis Armstrong's music remains loved today by millions around the 
world, and I think virtually every jazz performer has credited Louis 
Armstrong for some level of inspiration. One of America's greatest 
contemporary jazz trumpeters, Mr. Wynton Marsalis, was quoted in last 
Sunday's Deseret News saying that Louis Armstrong ``is the one who 
taught all of us how to play. He taught the whole world about jazz.''
  My resolution today, which I am pleased to have co-sponsored by 
Senators Schumer, Breaux and Lieberman, recognizes the brilliance of 
this great American's artistic contribution. This Saturday, on the 
occasion of the centennial of his birth, I hope we all have a moment to 
pause in joy and gratitude for the uplifting experience of Louis 
Armstrong's music. I know that, for me, when I think of the life and 
work of Louis Armstrong, I say to myself: What a Wonderful World.

                              S. Res. 146

       Whereas Louis Armstrong's artistic contribution as an 
     instrumentalist, vocalist, arranger, and bandleader is one of 
     the most significant contributions in 20th century American 
     music;
       Whereas Louis Armstrong's thousands of performances and 
     hundreds of recordings created a permanent body of musical 
     work defining American music in the 20th century, from which 
     musicians continue to draw inspiration;
       Whereas Louis Armstrong and his bandmates served as 
     international ambassadors of goodwill for the United States, 
     entertaining and uplifting millions of people of all races 
     around the world;
       Whereas Louis Armstrong is one of the most well-known, 
     respected, and beloved African-Americans of the 20th century;
       Whereas Louis Armstrong was born to a poor family in New 
     Orleans on August 4, 1901 and died in New York City on July 
     6, 1971 having been feted by kings and presidents throughout 
     the world as one of our Nation's greatest musicians; and
       Whereas August 4, 2001 is the centennial of Louis 
     Armstrong's birth: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates August 4, 2001, as ``Louis Armstrong Day''; 
     and
       (2) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
     calling upon the people of the United States to observe the 
     day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

                          ____________________