Louis Prima Jr - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Origins

Louis Prima Jr. is a Las Vegas

Las Vegas metropolitan area

The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...

-based entertainer best known for carrying on the legacy of his father Louis Prima

Louis Prima

Louis Prima was a Sicilian American singer, actor, songwriter, and trumpeter. 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 Vegas lounge act in the...

, the original "King of Swing." Born on Father's Day

Father's Day

Father's Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. Many countries celebrate it on the third Sunday of June but it is also celebrated widely on other days...

in 1965, he is the youngest child of Louis Prima and Gia Maione Prima

Gia Maione

Gia Maione is an American singer and widow of singer Louis Prima born 1941.Gia Maione is a 1959 graduate of Toms River High School . She first gained notice in 1962, when she was signed to sing lead female vocals for Prima and his band. Prima had divorced Keely Smith, his former lead vocalist, the...

, and is Louis Prima’s only son. He has one older full sister, Lena Prima, and several half sisters from his father’s previous marriages.

Destined to follow his father's musical greatness, Louis Jr. began his musical career with drums at the mere age of five. At eight, he began to learn the piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

. His piano instructor was also his aunt, Sister Mary Ann, a nun. By the time high school rolled around, Prima Jr. was becoming a virtuoso of many musical instruments, including trumpet

Trumpet

The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

and guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

.

His introduction to stage also came at age five, when his father brought him onstage to sing Three Dog Night

Three Dog Night

Three Dog Night is an American rock band best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. During that time the band charted 21 Billboard top 40 hits in America, three of which reached Number One...

's "Joy to the World

Joy to the World

"Joy to the World" is a Christian Christmas carol.The words are by English hymn writer Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98 in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts' collection; The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and...

", along with sister Lena. Follow up visits onstage included such songs as, "Your Mama Don't Dance

Your Mama Don't Dance

"Your Mama Don't Dance" is a hit 1972 song by the rock duo Loggins and Messina. Released on their self-titled album Loggins and Messina, it reached #4 on the Billboard pop chart and #19 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart as a single in early 1973."Your Mama Don't Dance" was covered in 1985...

", and "On Top of Spaghetti

On Top of Spaghetti

"On Top of Spaghetti" is a ballad and children's song written and originally performed by folk singer Tom Glazer with the Do-Re-Mi Children's Chorus in 1963. The song is sung to the tune of "On Top Of Old Smokey". It is essentially the tale of a meatball that was lost when "somebody sneezed"...

The Music

Despite his rich musical background, when Louis Jr. graduated high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

he had his sights set on a business degree and a career in finance

Finance

"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...

, and this continued until he was 22 years old. Louis was singing rock songs with his sister Lena's band in the mid eighties when he was bitten by the music bug again. "After singing several times with my sister and the Witnesses, I had to return." He left college and went back to performing full time.

In 1987 he formed Problem Child, a rock band, in which he was the lead singer and songwriter. Pursuing the rock n' roll dream of a recording contract, Prima's band opened for the likes of Winger. But with the onset of grunge

Grunge

Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...

music in the early 90's, labels wanted him to write and perform in the vein of Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...

, etc. At that point Louis decided to give up on the record business.

"I decided that rock and depression was not what I was about, and opted to make a career (out) of performing my father’s music in 1995. I haven’t looked back since."

In 1995, Louis decided to go back to his roots...his father's music. With the help of his sister Lena and the musical direction of Prima Sr.'s old B-3 player, Louis Jr. began to put together a tribute to his father's popular Vegas show. He eventually decided the timing was not quite right, however.

In ensuing years, Louis worked part time as a Food and Beverage manager in various places, ending up as Acting Assistant General Manager for HMS Host at McCarran International Airport

McCarran International Airport

McCarran International Airport is the principal commercial airport serving Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, United States. The airport is located five miles south of the central business district of Las Vegas, in the unincorporated area of Paradise in Clark County. It covers an area of and...

in Las Vegas. Ultimately, Louis Jr.’s insatiable need to be on stage full time, his love of music and a desire to protect his father’s legacy led him to quit his day job and The Witnesses were reborn.

Louis has continued to tour internationally, bringing his father's legend to life. On December 7th, 2010, Louis Prima Jr. and the Witnesses performed in honor of Louis Prima's 100th birthday on Fremont Street

Fremont Street

Fremont Street is a street in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is the second most famous street in the Las Vegas metropolitan area after the Las Vegas Strip...

's 1st street stage in old Las Vegas. The show was a huge success, garnering the attention of such notables as Robin Leach

Robin Leach

Robin Douglas Leach is an English celebrity writer famous for hosting his first show, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, in the mid-1980s and into the mid-1990s, which focused on profiling well-known celebrities and their lavish homes, cars and other materialistic endeavors...

among others. Shortly before then, on December 4th, Louis Jr was seen in New Orleans where he attended the dedication of a statue in his father's honor.

Hollywood Walk of Fame

On July 25, 2010 Louis Prima Jr., singer Sarah Spiegel

Sarah Spiegel

-EARLY YEARS:Sarah was born in Long Branch, N.J., and her early years were spent in Belmar, N.J. Unlike your average grammar school student, Sarah acquired a love for the "Big Band" sound very early in life and decided that it would be her calling. Moving to Jupiter, Florida after graduating from...

, and the Witnesses were in Hollywood for an historic occasion: Louis Prima's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Hollywood Walk of Fame

The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...

on 1617 Vine Street. Louis Jr. and his sister Lena were on hand to accept the star on their father's behalf, followed by a tribute show to their father. In the year Louis Sr. would have become a centenarian

Centenarian

A centenarian is a person who is or lives beyond the age of 100 years. Because current average life expectancies across the world are less than 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. Much rarer, a supercentenarian is a person who has lived to the age of 110 or more, something only...

, his son Louis Jr. showed the world that the time is indeed right for a resurgence in big band

Big band

A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...

and swing...and Louis Jr. the one to make the world stand ready to "Jump, Jive an' Wail." It is also quite obvious that he wrote his own Wikipedia article.

Personal life

Louis Prima Jr. is divorced and has two children, Jacob and Anthony. Anthony has been seen on stage singing with his father, carrying on the family legacy.

Musicology

Louis Prima Jr. is currently working in the studio on his first album, which will contain covers of his father’s hit songs.

Live performances

Articles

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.