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Track: The Lip - Remastered
Artist: Louis Prima
Album: The Wildest! (Expanded Edition)

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Louis Prima Image

Name: Louis Prima
Spotify Genres: swing music, big band
Followers: 235,064
Popularity:

60/100

Biography

American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and trumpeter (December 7, 1910, New Orleans, LA - . August 24, 1978, New Orleans, LA). Married to [a70283] (1953-1961) and [a2877703] (1963). Father of [a7341878] and [a7291188]. He was the voice of King Louie in Disney's [i]The Jungle Book[/i]. 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 expressing their ethnicity, Prima's embrace of his Sicilian ethnicity opened the doors for Italian-American and ethnic American musicians to display their roots. After finishing high school in New Orleans, Prima had a few unsuccessful gigs, including when he joined the [a=Ellis Stratakos]' Orchestra in 1929. From 1931 to 1932, Prima occupied his time by performing in the Avalon Club owned by his brother [a=Leon Prima]. His first break was when Lou Forbes hired him for daily afternoon and early evening shows at The Saenger. In September 1934, Prima began recording for the [l=Brunswick] label with [a=Louis Prima & His New Orleans Gang]; these recordings were a combination of Dixieland and swing. In March 1936, Prima wrote and recorded "Sing Sing Sing" ([url=https://www.discogs.com/release/10034667]Brunswick 7628[/url]), which subsequently became a hit for [a=Benny Goodman]. In 1936, Prima moved to California to expand his music. During this time there was a movement for big bands and orchestras, but Prima kept performing and recording with a smaller band. In 1938-39, Prima formed [a=Louis Prima & His Band] and recorded for [l=Decca]. (This group had the same basic small band lineup as the New Orleans gang.) In late 1939, Prima broke up the New Orleans Gang and finally formed his own big band, [a=Louis Prima And His Gleeby Rhythm Orchestra]. This group only recorded 8 sides in 1940. The instrumentation featured 2 trumpets, trombone, 2 alto saxes, tenor sax, piano, guitar, bass, and drums. "Gleeby Rhythm" refers to the signature, upbeat shuffle beat, which fueled hits like "Gleeby Rhythm Is Born" and "Dance with a Dolly" (1940). This group showcased his energetic New Orleans jazz and swing style with vocalists like [a=Lily Ann Carol] and [a=Jack Powers], a Boston discovery of Prima’s, joining in July 1940 and remaining until fall 1941 when he fell victim to the draft. These 1940 recordings capture the fun, signature sound before his even bigger fame with [a=Keely Smith]. Prima finally created [a=Louis Prima And His Orchestra] in 1941. The big band made recordings for [l=The Hit Record] and [l=Majestic] labels from 1944-47. By the mid-1940s, Prima was experiencing great success. People were purchasing tickets early in the morning for shows later on that evening. Despite the anti-Italian sentiment during the war, Prima continued to record Italian songs, the most famous being "Angelina", named after his mother. Others included "Please No Squeeza Da Banana", "Baciagaloop (Makes Love on the Stoop)", and "Felicia No Capicia". By the end of the war years, the popularity of big band music was diminishing, and by 1947 Prima was playing more jazzy versions of his music. The band began recording under a new contract with [l=RCA Victor] in 1947 until 1949. It was during this time that Prima met [a=Keely Smith]; Prima met her in August 1948 when was looking for a new female vocalist to replace [a=Lily Ann Carol]. Smith was soon traveling with his band. Following this, Prima made several recordings with the band in 1950 for [l=Mercury]. In 1950, Prima formed his own label, [l=Robin Hood (3)], to to release his own material. His hit [url=https://www.discogs.com/master/839378]"Oh Babe!"[/url] on [l=Robin Hood (3)] rekindled interest in him from major labels, and he signed with [l=Columbia] Records in the Fall of 1951. Placed under the auspices of [a=Mitch Miller], the head of artists and repertoire (A&R) at Columbia, Prima's loose style clashed with Miller's production-conscious manner. The resulting recordings were Prima's combination of Italian shuffle, R&B, and comic novelties, and Miller's staid arrangements. A few of the tracks featured [a=Keely Smith] on vocals. Prima married Smith in 1953. Prima left Columbia in 1953 over a dispute regarding who would record [url=https://www.discogs.com/master/1481850]"Come On-a My House"[/url], and returned to recording for his own Robin Hood Records until Capitol revived his recording popularity. In 1954, Prima was offered a stay at The Sahara in Las Vegas to open his new act with Keely Smith. He enlisted New Orleans saxophonist [a=Sam Butera] and his backing musicians, [url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/628949]The Witnesses[/url]. The act was a hit, and ultimately led Prima to sign with [l=Capitol Records] in 1955. The act performed regularly in Las Vegas for the rest of the decade. He released his first album with Capitol Records, [i]The Wildest![/i], in September 1956. In 1957, [a=Louis Prima & Keely Smith], as a couple, released [i]The Call of the Wildest[/i]. The duo also redid "That Old Black Magic", which was a Top 40 hit for two months and earned the duo a Grammy. In 1959, Prima signed with [l=Dot Records] ([l=Coronet Records] & [l=Spin-O-Rama]) and produced eight albums, under his name and as "[a=Louis Prima & Keely Smith]." The couple was constantly performing and it affected their marriage. The constant performances and Prima's infidelities ultimately became too much for Smith. That noted, Smith also had an affair with [a=Frank Sinatra], prior to her divorce from Prima in 1961. After finishing up their contract at the Desert Inn, she filed for divorce. In 1962, Prima tried to form his own recording company called [l=Prima Magnagroove] Records. He filled Smith's spot with [a=Gia Maione], a 21 year old waitress. In 1967, Prima landed a role in Walt Disney's animated feature The Jungle Book, as the orangutan King Louie. He performed the hit song "I Wan'na Be like You" on the soundtrack. Prima was married five times and had six children. 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. 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.

Source: Discogs

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Discogs Release Info

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Release: Louis Prima - The Wildest!
Year: 2009
Genres: Jazz, Blues, Pop
Styles: Rhythm & Blues, Vocal, Swing

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