Louis Prima Biography

Louis Prima (December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an Italian-American entertainer, singer, actor, and trumpeter born in New Orleans. He was referred to as the King of the Swingers.

Prima rode the musical trends of his time, starting with his seven-piece New Orleans style jazz band in the 1920s, then successively leading a Swing combo in the 1930s, a Big Band in the 1940s, a hot Vegas lounge act in the 1950s, and a pop-Rock go-go band in the 1960s, in all cases projecting his exuberant personality.

The Prima-Butera arrangements and recordings continued to be copied by younger musicians, including David Lee Roth, who covered his medley of "Just a Gigolo"/"I Ain't Got Nobody" in the 1980s, and Brian Setzer, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and other nouveau swing bands of the 1990s, covering such Prima standards as "Jump, Jive and Wail". The pop band Smash Mouth has professed a liking of Prima's work, mentioning his name in the song "Heave-Ho" (from their album Fush Yu Mang), and covering "I Wan'na Be Like You" for the soundtrack album of The Jungle Book 2. "I Wanna Be Like You" was also covered by Los Lobos.

Prima's original recordings have also featured in movies, including Big Night (1996) and Mickey Blue Eyes (1999).

Butera and the Witnesses also continue to tour.

His works were also in the motion picture Analyze This in 1999.