Jimi Hendrix vs Louis Armstrong
Two music prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| Jimi Hendrix | Louis Armstrong | |
| Field | Music | Music |
| Sub-field | Pop | Jazz |
| Born | 1942 | 1901 |
| Died | 1970 | 1971 |
| Country of birth | United States | United States |
| Star sign | Sagittarius | Leo |
Who they are
Jimi Hendrix
The first instrument Jimi Hendrix ever played was a ukulele with a single string. He found it while helping his father clean out a house in Seattle in 1957, and he spent weeks working out the melody to "Honky Tonk Women" on that single string before his father relented and bought him a five-dollar acoustic guitar. He was fifteen years old, completely self-taught, and he could already hear in his head sounds that no existing guitarist had yet produced. Within four years, by his own account, he had listened to every blues record he could…
Full biography of Jimi Hendrix →
Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901, in the Third Ward of New Orleans, in an impoverished neighborhood his neighbors called "the Battlefield." His father abandoned the family when Louis was an infant, and his mother, Mary Ann Armstrong, often worked as a domestic servant, leaving young Louis and his sister largely to fend for themselves. He grew up in the streets, singing for coins in a vocal quartet, delivering coal, and selling newspapers. He received his first formal musical instruction not in a school or conservatory but in the New Orleans Colored…
Full biography of Louis Armstrong →
What they share
- Both are held here under Music.
- Both born in United States.
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Where they part
- 41 years separate their births (1942 and 1901).
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Jimi Hendrix or Louis Armstrong?
- Louis Armstrong. Jimi Hendrix was born in 1942, Louis Armstrong in 1901.
- What field is each of them in?
- Jimi Hendrix is filed under Music (Pop). Louis Armstrong is filed under Music (Jazz).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.