Louis Prima

A great showman and boisterous personality, Louis Prima was a leading star of the US jazz scene throughout the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, thanks to his gravelly voice and flamboyant, high energy performances. Born into a musical family of Italian immigrants, Prima cut his teeth on the vibrant New Orleans jazz clubs before helping turn New York's 52nd Street into a jumpin', jivin' hot spot known as "Swing Street". A favourite of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, his big band orchestra landed a prestigious slot on CBS radio in the late 1930s, scored the million selling hits Angelina, Please No Squeeza Da Banana and Josephina, Please No Leana and went on to light up Chicago's wealthy entertainment industry in the mid 1940s. He later became a hugely popular lounge act in Las Vegas and scored his signature hit Just A Gigolo in 1956, before launching the career of his wife Keely Smith and providing the voice to orang-utan King Louie in the Walt Disney animated film The Jungle Book (1967); he even sang the movie's classic song I Wanna Be Like You. In 1978 Prima suffered a brain haemorrhage, falling into a coma, and died soon after aged 67.

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