Question 1

True or false: Armstrong played trumpet with his left hand because he was naturally left-handed.

Accepted Answer

False. He was right-handed but held the trumpet with his left hand to free his right for valves, a common technique.

Question 2

True or false: Armstrong was a prolific composer who wrote over 100 songs himself.

Accepted Answer

False. Though a brilliant performer, he wrote few songs himself. Most hits were by others; he focused on improvisation.

Question 3

True or false: Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald recorded multiple albums together, including the classic 'Ella and Louis' in 1956.

Accepted Answer

True. Armstrong and Fitzgerald recorded three studio albums for Verve: 'Ella and Louis' (1956), 'Ella and Louis Again' (1957), and 'Porgy and Bess' (1959).

Question 4

True or false: Louis Armstrong recorded the song 'Heebie Jeebies' in 1926, featuring his famous scat singing that helped popularize the technique.

Accepted Answer

True. Armstrong's 1926 recording of 'Heebie Jeebies' showcased his scat improvisation and is widely credited with bringing scat singing into the mainstream of jazz.

Question 5

True or false: Louis Armstrong was arrested as a child for firing a pistol on New Year's Eve.

Accepted Answer

True. On New Year's Eve 1912, 12-year-old Louis Armstrong fired a pistol into the air, was arrested, and sent to the Colored Waif's Home, where he received his first formal music instruction on the cornet.

Question 6

True or false: Louis Armstrong was born on July 4, 1900, in New Orleans.

Accepted Answer

False. He often claimed this date, but baptismal records discovered in the 1980s show he was born August 4, 1901. Historians now widely accept that later date.

Question 7

True or false: Armstrong performed for British royalty and was nicknamed 'The King of Jazz.'

Accepted Answer

False. He played for King George V but was called 'Satchmo' or 'Pops.' Paul Whiteman was actually 'King of Jazz.'

Question 8

True or false: Armstrong was arrested in 1957 for refusing to leave a whites-only concert stage in the South.

Accepted Answer

False. He was never arrested for that. He did criticize segregation and canceled a Soviet tour over racial issues.

Louis Armstrong Trivia Questions