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Louis Prima (1947)

Louis Prima (born December 7, 1910 in New Orleans , † August 24, 1978 ibid) was an American entertainer , singer , actor and trumpeter from New Orleans. A star on the Walk of Fame in Los Angeles is dedicated to him.

Beginnings and first bands

The son of Anthony Prima (1886–1961) and Angelina Caravella (1890–1965) was the second of four children. Caravella was the daughter of an Italian barber . Louis Prima first played in bands such as Ellis Stratakos in 1928 and Red Nichols in 1932 . During sound recordings on September 28, 1933, Prima was heard for the first time in Chicago as a member of the Hotcha Trio (David Rose, piano and Norman Gast, violin), for example with the titles Chinatown, My Chinatown / Dinah . In 1934 he went back to New Orleans and played at the ShimSham club , where he was discovered by Guy Lombardo , who secured him a record deal with Brunswick Records .

He put together his first band in September 1934 under the name New Orleans Gang, which initially included Claude Thornhill (piano), George Brunies (trombone), Sidney Arodin (clarinet), George Van Eps (guitar), Artie Shapiro (bass) and Stan King (drums). In the first recording session on September 27, 1934, four titles emerged, including Hoagy Carmichael's Stardust , all of which missed the hit parade. This also applies to the six titles written on November 1, 1934, including the first Louis Prima composition I Still Want You . The recording session scheduled on April 3, 1935 saw a completely different staffing New Orleans gang. Four recordings were made that day with Frank Pinero (piano), Larry Altpeter (trombone), Eddie Miller (clarinet, tenor saxophone), Garry McAdams (guitar), Jack Ryan (bass) and Ray Bauduc (drums), of which I ' m Living in a Great Big Way reached number 13 on the pop charts. In A Little Gypsy Tea Room , which was created on June 27, 1935 , even made it to fourth place - Louis Primate's best ranking ever. In 1937 he had an appearance in the musical film Manhattan Merry-Go-Round . From January 1940 he renamed the group in Louis Prima Orchestra, whose best-known hit was Angelina , recorded in April 1944 .

A jazz classic is born

Louis Prima: Sing, Sing, Sing (Brunswick)

In March 1935 he performed with a band at the Famous Door Club in New York, one of the hippest jazz clubs of the time. From May 1935 he first employed clarinetist Pee Wee Russell, whose nervous playing brought dynamism to the band. His clearly recognizable Neapolitan accent sounded strange in English. On February 28, 1936, the title Sing, Sing, Sing (With A Swing), composed by Prima, was composed with Frank Pinero (piano), Pee Wee Russell (clarinet), Joe Catalyne (tenor saxophone), Garry McAdams (guitar), Jack Ryan (bass) and George Pemberty (drums). Prima recording of it missed the hit parade, only in the extra-long live version by Benny Goodman (recorded on January 16, 1938 in Carnegie-Hall) did the Prima composition achieve world fame and become the jazz standard . He then starred in several Hollywood films such as Rhythm On The Range , which was released on July 1, 1936.

78s by Louis Prima and his orchestra from November 1945: Some Sunday Morning (Majestic)

From March 1937 clarinetist Meyer Weinberg joined the band; in September 1939 an engagement in the Famous Door Club was repeated , in March 1949 the young singer Keely Smith (Dorothy Gambardella) joined the band, who was now under contract with RCA. From November 1949 the band switched to Mercury Records . This was followed by a real label hopping, which led to Decca Records via Columbia Records (1951/1952) in April 1954.

Performances in Las Vegas

Las Vegas was in the process of establishing itself as an entertainment metropolis from 1954: Prima and Keely, who became Primate's fourth wife that year, received a two-week performance in the Casbah Lounge of the Sahara Hotel, for which tenor saxophonist Sam Butera and his band The Witnesses was hired. These included Jack Marshall (guitar), Amado Rodrigues (bass), Willie McCumber (piano), James “Little Red” Blount (trombone) and Bobby Morris (drums). With this line-up, Primate's most famous songs were written, but they never made it onto the charts. On April 19, 1956, meanwhile landed on Capitol Records, in addition to the famous medley Just a Gigolo / I Ain't Got Nobody , Body and Soul , Oh Marie , Buona Sera or Jump, Jive, An 'Wail , all early examples of one orchestral rock & roll . During the rock and roll era, Prima released numerous songs in this genre. A later moderate hit parade came with the classic That Old Black Magic recorded on August 25, 1958 (rank 18 in the US pop hit parade ), which was awarded a Grammy. In the Walt Disney cartoon The Jungle Book (1967) he spoke the monkey king King Louie and sang the piece I Wanna Be Like You , to which he also contributed the trumpet.

Grave of primates and parents and a sister in Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans

Louis Prima was married five times; in the first marriage with Louise Polizzi from 1929 to 1936 there was a child. From 1936 to 1947 he was married to Alma Ross. A child was born from his marriage to Tracelene Barrett from 1948 to 1953. From 1953 to 1963 he was married to Keely Smith , with whom he had two children. From the last marriage with Gia Maione came the son Louis Prima junior (* 1965), who is also active as a musician, and Lena. Louis Prima died in 1978 of complications from a heart attack. He was buried in Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans .

collection

Web links

Commons : Louis Prima  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Nick Toshe: Unsung Heroes of Rock And Roll. 1991, p. 83.
  2. ^ Brian Rust: Jazz Records 1932-1942. 1965, p. 460.
  3. ↑ IMDb: Louis Prima
personal data
SURNAME Great, Louis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American entertainer, singer, actor and trumpeter
DATE OF BIRTH December 7, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH New Orleans
DATE OF DEATH August 24, 1978
Place of death New Orleans