But it is interesting that he has fallen between cracks of musical identificationm. I mean he was too hip for big bands, to straight-arrow for jazz and too Las Vegas for rock and roll.
Still he was great and seemed to have a great time
when he made music. I can put him on the CD player and I have a tapping foot and a smile on my face in no time.
He and Keely Smith were an incredible pair.
One of the things that galled me, back in the 80s, was that so many people thought David Lee Roth’s “Just a Gigolo” was a parody of the earlier version, a campy rendition of an old chestnut of a song.
In reality, Roth’s version wasn’t a parody, it was a RIP-OFF! He copied Louis Prima’s version, note for note, syllable for syllable!
Louie’s version of “Just a Gigolo” was ALREADY a schmaltzy, tongue in cheek, deliberately hammy lark!
I love Louis. I’m particularly fond of “Angelina” (the waitress at the pizzeria). I’m embarassed to admit this, but I didn’t discover Louis Prima until I was an adult, and heard him in Disney’s version of The Jungle Book.
Oh, ooby-doo, I wanna be like you-ooo-ooo…
My Dad had an old LP of LP, The Wildest! from circa 1955. It was a live performance from the Sahara (“not the sandy African variety”) Ballroom in Las Vegas. This was the original source DLR copied from, as astorian accurately observed, “note for note, syllable for syllable.” I had been playing that track for years for my friends, thinking it a hoot, before DLR ripped it off. The liner notes said that he combined the two songs “Just a Gigolo” and “I Ain’t Got Nobody” into a mini-medley to tell the story of “an unemployed male escort.” And that the band turned it into “a real rocker.” So yeah, TV Time, LP was a little bit rock ‘n’ roll.
If you see the David Bowie movie from Germany, Just a Gigolo, Marlene Dietrich (who was about 80 years old then) gave a slow, sad, sweet, poignant, soul-aching rendition of that song, bringing out all its heartache from the depths. LP turned it on its head, making an upbeat joke of it. His infectious fun and good humor bubbled over in every bar.
LP came from New Orleans, born of the Sicilian immigrant population there who had been treated as a racial minority and thoroughly absorbed jazz in their bones. I’ve always said Louis Prima was either the blackest Italian, or the most Italian black guy that ever was, I don’t know which.
Yeah, Louis Prima is also a favorite of mine.
It may have been his involvement with Keely Smith when she was just a teenager while he was in his 40’s that moved him to the fringes of popularity.
Like it’s been mentioned, artists like David Lee Roth can cover one of his songs, bring nothing new to the table (except video) and have a hit.
Brian Setzer’s cover of Jump, Jive, And Wail is another example that Louis Prima never got his due.
Another artist in a similar situation is Louis Jordan.
A double Louis… man that would have been a bill.
Let’s not forget “Sing, Sing, Sing”, which he wrote.
Louis Prima is practically at Absolute Zero, he’s so cool.
One of the things I’ve always liked about jazz and popular music in general is the fact that quite a number of wonderful artists do not necessarily have “good” or “pleasant” voices. Prima is one, as are Satchmo, Joe Cocker, even Randy Newman and Leon Redbone. I heard Carole King’s Too Late, Baby recently, and I thought, her voice is uncultured and has this almost raspy tinge to it, as well as the New York undercurrent. It’s not a really good singing voice. But, of course, it’s a magnificent voice. I’ll take ten of her over any number of trained voices most days.
I don’t think he did.
Wasn’t it Lionel Hampton? Or Benny Carter?
I remember hearing Carter at a Manhattan jazz club on Sixth Avenue in the Village in the late '80s, and him being somewhat pissed off that most people thought Benny Goodman had written it.
Sorry, Ukulele Ike, it was Prima. (pdf)
Give me the power of man’s red flower, So I can be like you! I’m gonna put on that jungle flick.
Don’t pass up the chance one of Louis Prima’s greatest films, the 1959 classic Hey Boy! Hey Girl!
I had a Louis Prima CD in front of me, he definately wrote “Sing, Sing, Sing”. I remember hearing the “Gigalo/Nobody” medley by LP for the first time and realising just how pathetic David Lee Roth was for ripping him off note-for-note.
Keely Smith has released an album within the past 2 years of new versions of many of the tunes she sang with Prima. Her voice is still amazing.
And Keely Smith still has the same hairstyle she had in the 1950s.
Far too often I feel like singing a banana split for my baby, and a glass of cold water for me [sub]ain’t got no money[/sub] and a glass of cold water for me.
Whoopsie! You’re right, it was Prima. What the hell was I thinking of? Maybe “Stomping at the Savoy” ?
Keely Smith was incredible enough for Cher to rip off her act wholesale, right down to the haircut and Cherokee ancestory … .
I’ll never forget the look on my Mom’s face when she came to my house one day when I was playing Louis Prima - yes Mom, I do have good taste in music!!
*Banana Split For My Baby * was a big hit at mine & Mrs. Knarf’s wedding reception.
Man, y’just can’t beat King Louie - in ape or human form.