Louis Leo Prima (; December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was from a musical Italian American family in New Orleans, Louisiana. His father, Anthony Prima, was the son of Leonardo Di Prima, a Sicilian immigrant from Salaparuta, while his mother, Angelina Caravella, had emigrated from the island of Ustica north of Sicily as a baby. Prima was the second child of four; his older brother, Leon, was born in 1907, while his sisters Elizabeth and Marguerite were younger. Marguerite died when she was three years old. Leon, Louis, and Elizabeth were all baptized at St. Ann's Parish. They lived in a house at 1812 St. Peter Street in New Orleans. He became interested in jazz when he heard black musicians, including Louis Armstrong. Italian immigrants, Italian-Americans, and African-Americans in New Orleans at the time frequently socialized together in the same clubs and bars. Local clubs tailored to the ostracized Italian community, such as Matranga's, Joe Segrettas, Tonti's Social Club, and Lala's Big 25, were all Italian-American clubs owned and operated by Italians; African Americans were always welcomed in these clubs and often played music and fraternized with Italians and Italian-Americans. Prima's interest in jazz was sparked while frequenting these clubs and observing black and Italian jazz artists playing together.

He released his first album with Capitol Records, The Wildest!, in September 1956. Some of the popular songs include his medley of "Just a Gigolo" and "I Ain't Got Nobody".

Prima decided to relocate his acts to the Desert Inn because he would take in $3 million for producing twelve weeks' worth of acts a year for five years. and his only son, Louis Prima Jr., the last of his six children. He was also in the middle of making appearances in Las Vegas and promoting the film Twist All Night. Prima was married to Louise Polizzi from 1929 to 1936; Alma Ross from 1936 to 1945; Tracelene Barrett from 1945 to 1952; Keely Smith from 1953 to 1961; and Gia Maione in 1963. All but his marriage to Maione ended in divorce.

Among his children are musical performers Lena Prima and Louis Prima Jr., both born to Maione.

In 1973, Prima suffered a heart attack. Two years later, following headaches and episodes of memory loss, he sought medical attention, and was diagnosed with a brain stem tumor. Following surgery, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and went into a coma. He never recovered and he died in 1978, having been moved back to New Orleans. He was buried in Metairie Cemetery in a gray marble crypt topped by a figure of Gabriel, the trumpeter-angel, sculpted by Russian-born sculptor Alexei Kazantsev.

Legacy

At a time when ethnic musicians were discouraged from openly stressing their ethnicity, Prima's conspicuous embrace of his Sicilian ethnicity opened the doors for other Italian-American and ethnic American musicians to display their ethnic roots.

Prima's expected visit to a small Italian restaurant drives the plot of the critically acclaimed 1996 film Big Night.

His rendition of "Pennies from Heaven" was featured in the 2003 Christmas blockbuster Elf.

On July 25, 2010, the centenary year of his birth, Prima received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 2018, Prima's 1936 single "What Will Santa Claus Say (When He Finds Everybody Swingin')" was sampled by Kids See Ghosts on the song "4th Dimension", which appeared on their album Kids See Ghosts.

Prima's New Orleans–based daughter, Lena Prima, performs throughout the country. His son, Louis Prima Jr. leads his own band.

Filmography

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Film

|-

! Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

|-

|1936|| Rhythm on the Range || Trumpet Player || Uncredited

|-

|1937|| You Can't Have Everything || Orchestra Leader ||

|-

|1937|| Manhattan Merry-Go-Round || Bandleader || Uncredited

|-

|1938|| Start Cheering || Himself – Conductor of his Band ||

|-

|1939|| Rose of Washington Square || Band Leader ||

|-

|1958|| Senior Prom || Himself ||

|-

|1959|| Hey Boy! Hey Girl! || Himself ||

|-

|1961|| The Continental Twist || Louis Evans ||

|-

|1967|| The Jungle Book || King Louie || Voice

|-

|1975|| Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins || Himself || (final film role)

|}

Discography

Albums

  • Louis Prima Plays for the People (Mercury MG-25142, 1953)
  • The Wildest! (Capitol T-755, 1956)
  • The Call of the Wildest (Capitol T-836, 1957)
  • The Wildest Show at Tahoe (Capitol T-908, 1957)
  • Las Vegas Prima Style (Capitol T-1010, 1958)
  • Strictly Prima! (Capitol T-1132, 1958)
  • Breaking It Up! (Columbia CL-1206, 1958)
  • Hey Boy!, Hey Girl! (Capitol T-1160, 1959)
  • Louis and Keely! (Dot DLP-3210/25210, 1959)
  • His Greatest Hits (Dot DLP-3262/25262, 1960)
  • Together (Dot DLP-3263/25263, 1960)
  • Pretty Music – Prima Style: Volume One (Dot DLP-3264/25264, 1960)
  • On Stage (Dot DLP-3266/25266, 1960)
  • Wonderland by Night: Pretty Music – Prima Style Volume II (Dot DLP-3352/25352, 1960)
  • Blue Moon (Dot DLP-3385/25385, 1961)
  • Return of the Wildest (Dot DLP-3392/25392, 1961)
  • Doin' the Twist With Louis Prima (Dot DLP-3410/25410, 1961)
  • The Hits of Louis and Keely (Capitol T/ST-1531, 1961)
  • The Wildest Comes Home! (Capitol T/ST-1723, 1962)
  • Lake Tahoe Prima Style (Capitol T/ST-1797, 1962)
  • Prima Show in the Casbar (Prima Magnagroove PM/PS-3001, 1963)
  • The King of Clubs (Prima Magnagroove PM/PS-3003, 1964)
  • Let’s Fly With Mary Poppins (Buena Vista BV/STER-3333, 1965)
  • That Darn Cat (Buena Vista BV/STER-3334, 1965)
  • The Golden Hits of Louis Prima (Hanna-Barbera HLP-8502/HST-9502, 1966)
  • Louis Prima on Broadway (United Artists UAL-3596/UAS-6596, 1967)
  • The Jungle Book: Original Cast Soundtrack (Disneyland BV/STER-4041, 1967)
  • The New Sounds of the Louis Prima Show (De-Lite DE-2001, 1968)
  • More Jungle Book: Further Adventures of Baloo and Mowgli (Disneyland ST/STER-3960, 1969)
  • Blast Off: The Live New Sound of Louis Prima (Prima Magnagroove ST-0030, 1970)
  • The Prima Generation '72 (Prima Magnagroove ST-0072, 1972)
  • Just a Gigolo (Prima Magnagroove ST-0073, 1973)
  • Angelina (Prima Magnagroove ST-0074, 1973)
  • Let’s "Hear" It for Robin Hood (Buena Vista 3339, 1974)
  • The Wildest '75 (Prima Magnagroove ST-0076, 1975)

Selected singles

  • "Dinah" / "Chinatown, My Chinatown" (1933) Bluebird
  • "That's Where the South Begins" / "Jamaica Shout" (1934) Brunswick
  • "Long About Midnight" / "Stardust" (1934) Brunswick
  • "Sing it Way Down Low" / "Let's Have a Jubilee" (1934) Brunswick
  • "I Still Want You" / "Breakin' the Ice" (1934) Brunswick
  • "House Rent Party" / "Bright Eyes" (1935) Brunswick
  • "It's the Rhythm in Me" / "Worry Blues" (1935) Brunswick
  • "Angelina" (1944) Hit
  • "Hi Ho Trailus Bootwhip" / "I'll Walk Alone" (1945) Mercury
  • "Marguerita" (1947) Majestic
  • "I Beeped When I Shoulda Bopped" / "The Manuelo Tarantel" (1949) Mercury
  • "Luigi (song)" / "Oh, Marie" (1953) Styrene
  • "Buona Sera" (1956)

See also

  • Italians in New Orleans
  • Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)

References