Louis Prima

Louis Prima
Prima in 1947
Background information
Birth name	Louis Leo Prima
Also known as	The King of Swing
Born	(1910-12-07)December 7, 1910 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Died	August 24, 1978(1978-08-24) (aged 67) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres	Jazz swing traditional pop jump blues big band
Occupation(s)	Musician entertainer bandleader
Instrument(s)	Vocals trumpet
Years active	1929–1975
Labels	Capitol, Dot
Spouse(s)	Louise Polizzi ​ ​ (m. 1929; div. 1936)​ Alma Ross ​ ​ (m. 1936; div. 1945)​ Tracelene Barrett ​ ​ (m. 1945; div. 1952)​ Keely Smith ​ ​ (m. 1953; div. 1961)​ Gia Maione ​ (m. 1963)​
Website	www.louisprima.com

Louis Leo Prima (December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978)^[1] was an American trumpeter, singer, entertainer, and bandleader. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he formed a seven-piece New Orleans-style jazz band in the late 1920s, fronted a swing combo in the 1930s and a big band group in the 1940s, helped to popularize jump blues in the late 1940s and early to mid 1950s, and performed frequently as a Vegas lounge act beginning in the 1950s.

From the 1940s through the 1960s, his music further encompassed early R&B and rock 'n' roll, boogie-woogie, and Italian folk music, such as the tarantella. Prima made prominent use of Italian music and language in his songs, blending elements of his Italian and Sicilian identity with jazz and swing music. At a time when ethnic musicians were discouraged from openly stressing their ethnicity, Prima's conspicuous embrace of his Sicilian ethnicity opened the doors for other Italian-American and ethnic American musicians to display their ethnic roots.^[1][2]

Prima is also known for providing the voice for the orangutan King Louie in the 1967 Disney film The Jungle Book.