Louis 'King of Swing' Prima

- - - Louis Prima gets posthumous Hollywood star - - - 'King of Swing' Louis Prima has received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, July 25, 2010, in a centennial celebration that included dancing in the street to his big-band sounds. The influential band leader was honored at a Sunday ceremony on Vine Street attended by his son Louis Prima Jr., who continues the legacy of his father's music, his daughter Lena Prima, celebrities, dignitaries and fans. "Louis Prima was a great entertainer and presented a great show. But more than anything else, he brought happiness to his audiences," said Bill Cosby in a congratulatory message read at the midday ceremony, which also included a concert of Prima's music by Louis Prima Jr.'s big band, The Witnesses, as well as swing-dancing fans. Prima, who died in 1978, would have been 100 years old this year. (Associated Press) ~~~ Birth: Dec. 7, 1910 - Death: Aug. 24, 1978 - Musician. - Born in New Orleans, Louisiana. As a child he studied violin for several years before claiming his brother’s trumpet. By the time he was twelve, and his fifteen-year-old brother Leon were leading their own band, which started as the pit band of the Saenger Theater. At 22, he was spotted performing with Red Nichols by Guy Lombardo who encouraged him to move to New York. There he formed his own band, Louis Prima and his New Orleans Gang. His 1936 composition "Sing, Sing Sing" became one of the biggest hits and most covered numbers of the period. In 1939, Prima dissolved his Gang in favor of fronting a big band of his own; The Gleeby Rhythm Orchestra. He moved to Los Angeles where he headlined at the Famous Door nightclub. In 1948, he hired sixteen year old Dorothy Keely Smith, as his singer and their onstage chemistry was immediate. He would make her Mrs. Prima number four in 1952. In 1954, Prima accepted a booking at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas and his late show became one of the city’s hottest attractions. Prima and Smith divorced in 1961, and he married another singer, Gia Maione, after which he continued to work in Vegas. In 1967, Disney, in an inspired decision, cast Prima in the animated feature, “The Jungle Book” as the orangutan, King Louis. "I Wanna Be Like You" was a hit song from the movie that led to the recording of two albums with Phil Harris who voiced Baloo the Bear: “The Jungle Book” and “More Jungle Book”, on Disneyland Records. He also appeared on the soundtrack to “The Man Called Flintstone”. Prima's act moved back to New Orleans Orleans in the early 1970s. In 1975 Prima underwent brain surgery in order to remove a tumor and lapsed into a coma. He remained hospitalized until his death almost three years later. He was interred in Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans in a grey marble crypt topped by a figure of Gabriel, the angel with a trumpet. Prima’s music continues to be covered by other musicians, including the Brian Setzer Orchestra who covered the Prima standard "Jump and Jive and Wail" during the 1990s nouveau swing period, sending it to the top of the charts once again.

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