Home » Jazz News » Music Industry

1

Documentary: Louis Prima

Source:

Sign in to view read count
Louis Prima goes back further than you think. Born in New Orleans, his first surge of popularity came in the 1930s, when he was a trumpeter-bandleader with a swinging singing voice. He wrote Sing, Sing Sing, which sounds just like him once you know it came from his pen. In the 1940s, Prima leveraged his heritage to create a string of Italian-themed hits, becoming Metronome's “Showman of the Year" in 1946. Then in 1953, he divorced his third wife and married, singer Keely Smith, who had been with him on stage since 1948.

As the big band era became economically unsustainable in the early '50s, Prima and Smith began working their stage act with a small group, with Sam Butera on tenor sax. Prima and Smith started performing in Las Vegas in 1954 and from there became a huge hit just as the 12-inch album was taking off and Americans discovered vacations.

After they divorced in 1961, Prima married his next singer, Gia Maione, continued to perform in Vegas and landed a role in Disney's Jungle Book in 1967. But in 1973, Prima suffered a heart attack and went into a coma for three years starting in 1975 following surgery to remove a tumor. He died in 1978 at age 67. 

It's hard to know what to make of Prima today. So much of his act seems an extension of personae established by several black artists, most notably Louis Armstrong and Louis Jordan. What Prima added was the conversational timing, joy, sound and flavor of first-generation Italian-American life.

Prima's essence wasn't that he gave audiences what they wanted. Rather, in his hey-day, he gave them what they already knew, served up in a more high-strung, hip and comic routine. Keely Smith was the straight-faced foil—in on the gag but playfully perturbed about being sidelined or marginalized.

I guess what remains special about Prima is his loose, infectious, high-octane optimism and his ability to use his voice to slur-scat lines and excite audiences with a savvy backbeat. Interestingly, when I watch Prima now on YouTube, my eyes tend to settle on Smith's face, waiting for her glares and glances as Prima hops around like a cocktail shaker, turning American Songbook standards into a Tarantella. Smith may have lacked Prima's zest and musical command, but those expressions are still priceless.

Here's a documentary on Prima. See what you think...

Continue Reading...

This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved.

Comments

Tags

News

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.