He was forced to leave school and begin working. Armstrong then began to work for a wealthy Jewish family collecting garbage and delivering coal. They were intrigued by his vocals; they had encouraged him to sing to them and often invited him into their home for meals. .
Every child is a little daring devil, and that is what Louis was. On New Years Eve, he fired his stepfather's gun and got arrested. Being that he was just 11 years old, he was sent to Colored Waif's Home for Boys, a home for young boys. While being at the Home, Armstrong learned to play the cornet and instantly fell in love with music. At the age of 13, he was released and dreamed of becoming a full-blown musician. Although Armstrong still had to work small jobs such as selling newspapers and delivering coal, he began obtain a good name by being an exceptional blues player. Since Armstrong was being noticed, the greatest cornet player in his town, Joe "King " Oliver, became a mentor to Armstrong to guide him on the horn and from time to time used him as a substitute. .
In the mean time, Armstrong's musical career was continuing to expand. He replaced Oliver in Kid Ory's band, in which then it became the most popular band in New Orleans. Shortly after, he had to stop working manual labor jobs and began to concentrate more on his full time cornet. He was being offered to play in parties, funeral marches, dances, and local bars. On a riverboat was when Armstrong perfected his musical reading skills, which then led him to meet other jazz legends such as Bix Beiderbecke and Jack Teagarden. .
Even though Armstrong was comfortable in New Orleans, in the summer of 1922, he received a phone call from King Oliver who had asked him to go to Chicago to join his Creole Jazz Band playing as second cornet. Armstrong took in the offer and he soon took Chicago by surprise, shocking them with his outstanding performances. Armstrong did his first recording with King Oliver on April 5, 1923; on that day he earned his first solo recorded solo on Chimes Blues.