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Louis Prima

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Louis Prima was an American trumpeter, singer, entertainer and bandleader, born in New Orleans in 1910 into a musical Italian-American family with Sicilian roots. He first learned the violin, but became interested in jazz when he heard black musicians such as Louis Armstrong. In the late 1920s he formed a seven-piece band in the New Orleans style. In the 1930s he led a swing combo, and in the 1940s a big band. In 1936 his New Orleans Gang played at the Famous Door club in New York.

Music and breakthrough

In 1948 he met the singer Keely Smith. In 1954 they began an act together at the Sahara in Las Vegas, with saxophonist Sam Butera and his group The Witnesses. It proved a hit and led in 1955 to a contract with Capitol Records. There The Wildest! was released in 1956, containing among other things a medley of Just a Gigolo and I Ain't Got Nobody. The Call of the Wildest followed in 1957 and Louis and Keely! in 1959. Prima mixed jazz and swing with early R&B, rock 'n' roll, boogie-woogie and Italian folk music such as the tarantella, and liked to use Italian words in his songs. He also lent his voice to the orangutan King Louie in Disney's 1967 film The Jungle Book. He died in 1978.

Influence

Prima showed that ethnic background in jazz and pop could be an asset rather than a handicap. His Las Vegas show brought jazz and entertainment close together.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Just a Gigolo / I Ain't Got Nobody and notice the raw, playful singing and the band's jump swing. Can you hear how he turns a melancholy song into a party?

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

See also

Categories: Artists