For his son, the entertainer born in 1965, see Louis Prima Jr.
Louis Prima
Prima in 1947
Background information
Birth name
Louis Leo Prima
Also known as
The King of Swing
Born
(1910-12-07)December 7, 1910 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Died
August 24, 1978(1978-08-24) (aged 67) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres
Jazz
swing
traditional pop
jump blues
big band
Occupation(s)
Musician
entertainer
bandleader
Instrument(s)
Vocals
trumpet
Years active
1929–1975
Labels
Capitol, Dot
Spouse(s)
Louise Polizzi
(m. 1929; div. 1936)
Alma Ross
(m. 1936; div. 1945)
Tracelene Barrett
(m. 1945; div. 1952)
Keely Smith
(m. 1953; div. 1961)
Gia Maione
(m. 1963)
Website
www.louisprima.com
Musical artist
Louis Leo Prima (December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978)[1] was an American trumpeter, singer, entertainer, and bandleader. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he formed a seven-piece New Orleans-style jazz band in the late 1920s, fronted a swing combo in the 1930s and a big band group in the 1940s, helped to popularize jump blues in the late 1940s and early to mid 1950s, and performed frequently as a Vegas lounge act beginning in the 1950s.
From the 1940s through the 1960s, his music further encompassed early R&B and rock 'n' roll, boogie-woogie, and Italian folk music, such as the tarantella. Prima made prominent use of Italian music and language in his songs, blending elements of his Italian and Sicilian identity with jazz and swing music. 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.[1][2]
Prima is also known for providing the voice for the orangutan King Louie in the 1967 Disney film The Jungle Book.
^ abHuey, Steve. "Louis Prima Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
^De Stefano, George (Summer 2012). "Book Review: 'That Old Black Magic: Louis Prima, Keely Smith, and the Golden Age of Las Vegas'" (PDF). Italian American Review. 2 (2): 126. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
Louis Leo Prima (December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American trumpeter, singer, entertainer, and bandleader. While rooted in New Orleans jazz...
extensively in the 1950s with then-husband LouisPrima, and throughout the 1960s as a solo artist. Smith married Prima in 1953. The couple were stars throughout...
Lena Prima is an American jazz singer. She is the daughter of singer, trumpeter and recording star LouisPrima and his fifth wife, Gia Maione. Born in...
Manchester Leon Prima (1907–1985), an American jazz trumpeter, brother of LouisLouisPrima (1910–1978), a jazz musician, brother of Leon Prima (Transformers)...
they instead chose Italian-American and fellow New Orleans native LouisPrima. Prima considered playing King Louie as one of the highlights of his career...
Gia Maione Prima (May 20, 1941 – September 23, 2013) was an American singer and the fifth wife of musician/entertainer LouisPrima. Born in the Roebling...
album The Dirty Boogie, the group covered LouisPrima's "Jump, Jive an' Wail", which originally appeared on Prima's 1957 album The Wildest!. The BSO's follow...
Carl Sigman and Peter de Rose, and best known for being performed by LouisPrima in 1956. It reached number one in the singles charts in Belgium, the...
Pascal insists that he will persuade popular Italian-American singer LouisPrima to dine at Paradise when in town, assuming the celebrity jazz singer's...
by rockabilly, boogie-woogie, the jump blues of artists such as LouisPrima and Louis Jordan, and the theatrics of Cab Calloway. Many neo-swing bands...
Pillsbury's Grand National Recipe and Baking Contest for the recipe. LouisPrima played a song called "Banana Split for My Baby" at the Casbar Lounge...
popular song composed by Barbara Belle, Anita Leonard, Stan Rhodes, and LouisPrima and was published in 1946. The song has become a pop and jazz standard...
Gigolo, armer Gigolo"; paired as a medley with "I Ain't Got Nobody" by LouisPrima in 1956 "The Gigolo" – 1966 album by jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan “Gigolo...
Sing may refer to: "Sing, Sing, Sing (song)", 1936 big band song by LouisPrima, famously performed by Benny Goodman Sing Sing Sing (album), live album...
Global Information