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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsI learned something new today.....
A Jewish family Karnofsky, who immigrated from Lithuania to the United States, took pity on the 7-year-old boy and brought him to their home.
There he stayed and spent the night in this Jewish family home, where for the first time in his life he was treated with kindness and tenderness.
When he went to bed, Mrs Karnovski sang him Russian lullabies, which he sang with her.
Later he learned to sing and play several Russian and Jewish songs.
Over time, this boy became the adopted son of this family.
Mr. Karnofsky gave him money to buy his first musical instrument, as was the custom in Jewish families.
Later, when he became a professional musician and composer, he used these Jewish melodies in compositions such as St. James's Hospital and Go Down Moses.
The little boy grew up and wrote a book about this Jewish family, who adopted him in 1907. And proudly spoke Yiddish fluently.
In memory of this family and until the end of his life, he wore the Star of David and said that in this family he learned "to live a real life and determination."
This little boy's name was Louis Armstrong.

tazkcmo
(7,419 posts)What a gift they gave the world.
madaboutharry
(42,033 posts)Heartstrings
(7,349 posts)Drum
(10,678 posts)sarge43
(29,173 posts)What a simple act of kindness can accomplish.
Scrivener7
(59,522 posts)Hekate
(100,133 posts)NNadir
(38,051 posts)Bernardo de La Paz
(60,320 posts)Karadeniz
(24,746 posts)Paper Roses
(7,632 posts)SheltieLover
(80,486 posts)Ty for sharing!!! What a lovely story!
Response to Heartstrings (Original post)
RobertDevereaux This message was self-deleted by its author.
Joinfortmill
(21,169 posts)Butterflylady
(4,584 posts)Rhiannon12866
(255,574 posts)Thanks so much for sharing this with us!
Historic NY
(40,037 posts)a kennedy
(35,995 posts)marble falls
(71,936 posts)Tomconroy
(7,611 posts)Amazing story about our national treasure!
Stuart G
(38,726 posts)Wounded Bear
(64,328 posts)one of the great musical talents of the 20th Century.
TomSlick
(13,014 posts)Thanks.
Drum
(10,678 posts)A fascinating biography!
BobTheSubgenius
(12,217 posts)"He was born poor, died rich, and ever hurt anyone along the way."
That is just about the best epitaph I've ever heard.
FakeNoose
(41,637 posts)... he is known and loved by everyone. Through his movie performances we've all gotten to know Louie. What a wonderful legacy!
Niagara
(11,857 posts)This is a wonderful story.
JudyM
(29,785 posts)LittleGirl
(8,999 posts)I gasped when I read this! I didnt know.
Now, I have tears in my eyes because I loved him and my favorite song of all time is
Its a wonderful world.
Pinback
(13,600 posts)sarge43
(29,173 posts)MerryHolidays
(7,715 posts)It just makes me love him that much more. I don't know a single person in a single country anywhere in the world who doesn't love Louis Armstrong.
What a great story about such a great person...he was beloved everywhere, probably because he learned about love from his adopted family. Thanks so much for posting this little-known fact about such a mega-superstar. I can't believe I didn't know this until today!
An aside: 1964 was the year of The Beatles. They utterly dominated the US (and world) singles and album charts for months. I think they had the number US #1 single for 14 straight weeks.
...and then someone replaced them. And I don't know this for a fact, but I would be pretty sure that John, Paul, George, and Ringo were delighted that it was Louis Armstrong who finally replaced them at Number 1. They probably considered it a mighty honor to be supplanted with this!:
3catwoman3
(29,406 posts)...who were completely ignorant of Mr. Armstrong's history.
Most interesting.
Trueblue Texan
(4,468 posts)But I didnt know this about him. Thanks for educating me!
bahboo
(16,953 posts)had NO idea....