Louis Leo Prima (December 7, 1910 - August 24, 1978) is an Italian singer, actor, songwriter, and trumpeter. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched various genres throughout his career: he formed a seven-piece New Orleans-style jazz band in the late 1920s, fronted swing combo in the 1930s and a large band on the 1940s, helped popularize the blues jump in the late 1940s and early into the mid-1950s, and appeared as an act in the Vegas lounge in the late 1950s and 1960s.
From the 1940s to the 1960s, the music further included R & amp; B and rock'n'roll, boogie-woogie, and even Italian folk music, such as tarantella. Prima utilizes the use of music and Italian in its songs, blending elements of its Italian identity with jazz and swing music. While "ethnic" musicians often do not deign to openly emphasize their ethnicity, the primadonic hug from his Italian ethnic opens the door for other Italian American musicians and "ethnic" Americans to showcase their ethnic roots.
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Prima comes from a musical family in New Orleans. His father, Anthony Prima, was the son of Leonardo Di Prima, a Sicilian immigrant from Salaparuta, while his mother, Angelina Caravella, had immigrated from Ustica as a baby. Prima is the second of four; his older brother, Leon, was born in 1907, while his sister Elizabeth and Marguerite were younger. Marguerite died when she was three years old. Leon, Louis, and Elizabeth were all baptized at St. Peter's Parish. Ann. They live in a house at 1812 St. Peter Street in New Orleans.
Prima's mother, Angelina, is the first generation of Italian Americans. A music lover, he ensures that every child plays a musical instrument. Prima was given a violin and started playing at St. Peter's Parish. Ann. He became interested in jazz when he heard black musicians, including Louis Armstrong. Local clubs such as Matranga, Joe Segrettas, Tonti Social Club, and Lala's Big 25 are all Italian-American clubs owned and operated by Italians where African Americans often play and hang out with Italians and Italians.
According to the author Garry Boulard in his book Louis Prima , Prima noticed the music coming from the club and watched his brother Leon play cornet. When Leon left home to spend a summer in Texas, Prima practiced continuously on the worn cornet. He formed a band in 1924 with his childhood friends Irving Fazola (clarinet) and Johnny Viviano (drums).
Prima attended Jesuit High School but moved to Warren Easton High in the fall of 1926. At Warren Easton, he played with "Eastonites", a school band. In 1927, he partnered with fellow musician Frank Federico and the couple playing in "The Whip", a broken French Quarter nightclub. In the spring of 1928, Prima decided he would become a professional musician.
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Early music career
After finishing high school in New Orleans, Prima had several failed performances, including when he joined Ellis Stratako Orchestra in 1929. Prima, Federico and saxophonist Dave Winstein went to Florida for a gig but nothing appeared. They made it to the house of relatives, where they were given money for gas and food. Prima does not give up. He joined Joseph Cherniavsky's Orchestra in 1929 at Jefferson Parish. He got a job while playing on the Capital vessel that docked on Canal Street.
Although Capital did not give him a big break for his career, he met his first wife Louise Polizzi there. They married on June 25, 1929. From 1931-32, Prima spent his time performing at the Avalon Club owned by his brother Leon. His first break was when Lou Forbes hired him for an afternoon and evening show at The Saenger.
Big Apple
New York is a fascination for hungry musicians during the Great Depression. This poses a lot of risk, but all the best artists in the country make it in New York if not elsewhere. Guy Lombardo met Prima when he appeared at Shim Sham club during the Mardi Gras season of 1934.
Prima's first appearance in New York City should be at a club called Leon and Eddie, located at 33 West 52nd street. Eddie Davis, one of the club's owners, does not employ Prima because he thinks he's black.
Prima and New Orleans Gang
In September 1934, Prima began recording for the Brunswick label. He recorded "That's Where the South Begins", "Long About Midnight", "Jamaican Shout", and "Star Dust".
Prima and New Orleans Gang is a band of five musicians. Frank Pinero is a pianist, Jack Ryan playing bass, Garrett McAdams playing guitar, while Pee Wee Russell plays a clarinet. The band had their first appearance at a club called "Famous Door", owned and operated by Jack Colt. The prime recording of 1935 is a combination of Dixieland and swing.
In May 1935, Prima and Russell recorded "The Lady in Red", a national jukebox hit. They also recorded "Chinatown", "Chasing Shadows" and "Gypsy Tea Room". Martha Raye also plays a role in Prima's professional and personal life. He is a comedian who has the potential to become a singer. Both featured performances at the club that gave Prima his first national debut at "The Fleischman Hour". In March 1936, Prima recorded "Sing Sing Sing", which later became a hit for Benny Goodman.
California
Prima moved to California to stay away from the lifestyle and expand his music. During this time there was movement for big bands and orchestras. Prima employs Louis Masinter on a string bass, a native of New Orleans. He fired McAdams so he could ask Frank Federico, his childhood friend, to play guitar.
With all her success, her marriage in New Orleans has failed. Louise and Prima divorced in 1936 because Prima found an affair in Louise in 1933, in the French Quarter. A few months later, she was involved in a new affair with Alma Ross, an actress.
Prima and Ross are quite serious and after only a few months together, he asks her to marry him when he starts his tour in the Midwest. The couple face problems in Wisconsin and Chicago because they do not meet the requirements of marriage. Guy Lombardo helps them out by arranging a place in South Bend, Indiana. They were married on July 25, 1936.
The couple has some problems; one of the worst is that Louis denied much about his past. She never confessed to Alma that she has a daughter until she knows of the tax return. Prima also encouraged Ross to join Paramount in 1937. He continued to travel along the East Coast with his band.
Prima is struggling to upgrade to big band style. It's not supported by his mentors in New York or Los Angeles. With the help of Guy Lombardo he went to Chicago to promote his new format at Blackhawk in October 1936. The new format did not work.
Re-produced in New York
In 1937, Prima and his smaller gang (Federico, Masinter, Pinero, and Meyer Weinberg in the clarinet) returned to New York's Most Popular Gate to perform. He also appeared in the Billy Maud club in May 1938. He earned about a quarter million dollars for seven weeks at Casa MaÃÆ'Â ± ana. He was ordered by William Morris Agency in late 1938.
This means traveling all over the east coast. Stop done in Boston, New York, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Miami Beach, New Orleans, and St. Louis. This trip is sometimes done on a one-night driving trip. The crew is always traveling by car, because it is the cheapest option.
World War II
In World War II, Prima was deemed unfit for military service due to a knee injury, so he continued to perform. In 1939 he was under contract to perform in black cinemas in New York, Baltimore, Boston and Washington D.C. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt attended her show at Washington D.C., and officially invited her to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's birthday celebration. He appeared in a photo with the President, which ultimately increased his publicity.
In the mid-1940s, Prima experienced great success. People bought tickets early for the show later that night. Despite the anti-Italian sentiment during the war, Prima continued to record Italian songs, the most famous being "Angelina", named after his mother. Others include "Please No Squeeza Da Banana", "Baciagaloop (Makes Love on the Stoop)", and "Felicia No Capicia."
He performed Italian songs at the Strand Theater in New York. He brought $ 440,000 in six weeks. In Detroit he can bring about $ 38,000 for an afternoon show. With all this success, he decided to return to Chicago to prove himself; he sold the "Panther Room" in the city.
Prima had some great hits in the summer of 1945 including, "My Dreams are Better All Time" and "Bell-Bottom Trousers". However, as his career grew, his marriage to Alma failed. They divorced when she found out she had been having an affair with another actress. Alma should receive $ 15,000 a year or 7.5% of his income. Prima ignores payments until they accumulate up to about $ 60,000, which forces it to write a check for completion of $ 45,000 plus $ 250 per week. Then he married his secretary, Tracelene Barrett.
At the end of the war years, the popularity of major band music was diminishing, and in 1947 Prima played more versions of the music. Under a new contract with RCA Victor, he noted "Civilization"; "You Can not Know the Depth of Wells"; "Say with the Flat"; "Valencia"; "Flame My Went Out Last Night"; "Thousand Islands"; "Means to me"; and "Tutti Tutti Pizzicato".
In 1948 Prima and Barrett had a baby girl. He continues to work in the northeast, but reduces the size of his orchestra.
Personality
Fans know Prima as a friendly and patient celebrity: he always signs autographs or takes pictures with a smile. For record companies and large companies, however, Prima showed little respect, and he was uncompromising in finding adequate compensation for his work.
Warner Brothers offered him $ 60,000 to become a movie based on the life of Helen Morgan, but she rejected it; when the studio increased the offer up to $ 75,000, it's still not enough. Prima wants $ 100,000 and creative control over his role, which is rejected by Warner Brothers. He has a protracted dispute with the Strand Theater in Ithaca and Majestic Records, and he flatly refuses to allow an ex-songwriter to advertise himself as "previously featured with Louis Prima's orchestra". He is remembered for saying, life and recording, "Play beautiful for people."
Prima has an expensive appetite: he goes shopping in luxury clothing stores and always wears a branded suit. He spends a lot of money on his horse race and private stables. He says he enjoys gambling because it makes him relax; horseback riding is one of the most relaxing things outside of his busy life. He knows every horse well and reads about training. Another hobby is boating. He bought a boat for his third wife Tracelene Barrett for their honeymoon on the Hudson River.
Keely Smith
Keely Smith was twenty when he met Prima in August 1948. Born in Norfolk, Virginia, he intended to stop by the Surf Club in Virginia Beach to visit him. Surprisingly, Prima is looking for a new female vocalist to replace Lily Ann Carol. Smith was wearing a swimsuit and was not allowed into the club until he wore a proper outfit. Fortunately, one can lend some acceptable clothes and he auditioned. She landed part and immediately traveled with her band.
Prima signed a contract with Columbia Records in the fall of 1951 to keep up with the rapid changes in the marketing industry. Throughout his sixteen-month contract, the main hit consists of "Chop Suey, Chow Mein", "Ooh-Dahdily-Dah", and "Chili Sauce". To manage his expenses, he was forced to drop his big band and play in a smaller club to support his horse. Above all, he divorced his third wife Tracelene on June 18, 1953. Less than a month later he married Keely. He is open to criticism, and he wants to make him a star. He tried to find a style that fits him, especially since rock and roll appeared. Prima does not fight rock 'n' roll like some other artists, like Frank Sinatra and Jackie Gleason. He accepts that "children have instincts for the kind of music that is fun to hear and hear."
New activation
In 1954, Prima offered to live in The Sahara in Las Vegas to open his new acting with Keely Smith. He enrolled the New Orleans saxophonist, Sam Butera and his supporting musician, "The Witnesses". The action was a hit, and ultimately led Prima to sign a contract with Capitol Records in 1955.
She released her first album with Capitol Records, The Wildest! , in September 1956. Some popular songs include his medley "Just a Gigolo" and "I Is not Got Nobody". In 1957, they released The Call of the Wildest . Keely worked with other artists to release the album I Wish You Love , and received a Grammy for her in 1958.
She received the Playboy Jazz Award in 1959. She received the number one female vocalist in 1958-59 from Billboard and Variety. The duo also redidated the "Old Black Magic", which was the Top 40 hit for two months. It produces a Grammy duet. The couple also had two daughters together, one of them, Toni, became an actress and singer in her own. Prime Minister decided to move his move to the Desert Inn because he would take $ 3 million to produce a twelve-year deal per year for five years.
In 1959, Prima signed a contract with Dot Records and they produced eight albums. The top albums were Wonderland By Night and On Stage in 1961. The couple continued to perform and that affected their marriage. To try relaxation, the couple set out on a journey on the Atlantic coast, but eventually landed on the Intracoastal Waterway until rescued by Coast Guard.
In January 1961, Prima was invited by Frank Sinatra to perform at the premiere of President John F. Kennedy; both playing "Old Black Magic" together. Constant performances and prima infidelity are too much for Smith. After completing their contract at the Desert Inn, he filed for divorce at the Nevada Eighth Circuit Court in Las Vegas.
After Keely gets out of his life and looks, Prima tries to prove that he does not need it. At the New York Post, there was a suggestion that Keely had to rejoin the New York's Basin Street East nightclub. Prima said, "I have no desire at all to deal with Keely Smith under any circumstances... Nothing in the world or nothing can make me accept this woman in our actions."
Prima's father died in 1961, the same year as divorce with Keely. Her mother died in the winter of 1965.
In 1962, he tried to form his own record company called "Prima One Records". He filled Keely's place with Gia Maione, a 21-year-old waiter. He did his best to make him famous for producing his first album "This Is... Gia." It was fully funded by him, and it did not work. Together with Gia, his fifth wife, Prima has a daughter and her only son, Louis Prima Jr., the last of her six children. She is also making an appearance in Las Vegas and promoting the movie Twist All Night.
In 1967, Prima got a role in the Walt Disney animated feature The Jungle Book, as a stubborn King Louie orangutan. She performed the hit song "I Wan'na Be like You" on the soundtrack, leading to the recording of two albums with Phil Harris: The Jungle Book and More Jungle Book and includes MC duties and singing the theme song "Winnie the Pooh", for the 1967 album titled, Happy Birthday of Winnie the Pooh, all of this at Disneyland Records. She can be heard on the soundtrack features another cartoon, The Maneded Flintstone . One of Prima's final television shows is on What's My Line? as a "mysterious guest" in 1970.
Death
Prima suffered a heart attack in 1973. Two years later, after headaches and episodes of memory loss, he sought medical attention, and was diagnosed with a brainstem tumor. She suffered a brain hemorrhage and went into a coma after surgery. He never recovered, and died three years later, in 1978, having been transferred back to New Orleans. She is buried at the Metairie Cemetery in a gray marble basement topped by Gabriel, the trumpeter, who was carved out in 1997 by the Russian-born sculptor Alexei Kazantsev. The writing on the cellar door quotes the lyrics of one of his hits: "When it finally arrives, I know, they will say, 'only gigolo' because life goes on without me..."
Legacy
- On July 25, 2010 - the hundredth birthday - Prima received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- In 2018, Prima was sampled in the Kids See Ghosts song "4th Dimension" from Kids See Ghosts album Discussion
- "The Manuelo Tarantel" b/w "I'm Given When I Have to Stop" (1949) Mercury # 5339 (78RPM single)
- Disconnect It! (1953 [released 1958]) With Sam Butera & amp; Witnesses
- Wildest! (1956)
- Just Gigolo (1956)
- Wildest Call (1957)
- Most Show in Tahoe (1957)
- Las Vegas Prima Style (1958)
- Strictly Prima (1958)
- Hey Boy! Hey Girl! (1959)
- Louis and Keely! (1959) - The first album will be released by Dot Records.
- His Greatest Hits (1960) - The first album featuring multi-instrumentalist Morgan Thomas.
- Shared (1960)
- Prime Style Beautiful Music, Volume 1 (1960)
- On Stage (1960)
- Wonderland by Night (1960)
- Blue Moon (1961)
- Return of the Wildest (1961) - A final note to feature Keely Smith.
- Doin 'the Twist (1961)
- The Wildest Comes Home (1962) - Marks Prima returns to Capitol Records.
- Lake Tahoe Gaya Prima (1962) - The first LP Capitol featuring Gia Maione.
- Prima Show at Casbar (1963) - The first LP released by Prima One Records.
- Played Enough for the People (1964) - Released by Jazz Band, live radio broadcast of New Year's Eve 1963 and sometimes during 1964.
- King of Clubs (1964)
- Let's Fly with Mary Poppins (1965)
- Golden Hits of Louis Prima (1966) - The last recording to show Trombonist Lou Scioneaux.
- On Broadway (1967) - United Artists released, Primo's solo release without Gia Maione and Witnesses.
- The Jungle Book (1967) - Prima and Witnesses featured in duet with singer Phil Harris on "I Want to Be Like You".
- More Jungle Book (1969) - Prima and Witnesses are featured in one song, "Strange Behavior".
- New Voice Louis Prima Band (1969) - The first album to introduce Richie Varola to the electric organs, marks the first time the band produces a very different and modern sound.
- Blast Off! (1970)
- Prima Generation '72 (1972) Angelina (1973) - Respect for her mother, with new Italian songs like "Che la luna"
- Let "Hear" For Robin Hood (1974) - Release of Disneyland Records, Prima tells the story of Robin Hood through the spoken word and song. The snippet of this is re-issued in 2017 as part of the old album "Robin Hood" soundtrack.
- Wildest '75 (1975) - Prima's last album before slipping in a coma, featuring the single "I'm Leaving You".
- On Broadway (1959)
- Louis Prima Digs Keely Smith (not dated)
- Italy in New Orleans
- Official website
- The discography of Louis Prima in Discogs
- Louis Prima on IMDb
Coronet Records
See also
References
External links
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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