Louis Prima (December 7, 1910 - August 24, 1978) was born into a musical fa… Read Full Bio ↴Louis Prima (December 7, 1910 - August 24, 1978) was born into a musical family in New Orleans. His family emigrated from Sicily, Italy, and after a brief stay in Argentina settled in the United States. Prima studied violin for several years as a child. His older brother Leon was a well regarded local bandleader. Prima was proud of his heritage, and made a point of letting the audience know at every performance that he was Italian-American and from New Orleans. His singing and playing showed that he absorbed many of the same influences as his fellow Crescent City musician, Louis Armstrong, particularly in his hoarse voice and scat singing.
In his youth, Prima played trumpet with Irving Fazola, his brother's band, and the pit band of the Saenger Theater. In 1933 he began his busy recording career, as part of the David Rose orchestra at station WGN, Chicago; he was also part of the small recording group The Hotcha Trio, with Rose on piano and Norman Gast on violin. In 1934 Prima moved to New York, working regularly on 52nd Street with old New Orleans friends like Eddie Miller (tenor sax and clarinet) and George Brunies (trombone), and also new acquaintances like Pee Wee Russell (clarinet). Prima's informal jazz group was known as Louis Prima and His New Orleans Gang, and this band recorded prolifically for Brunswick through 1936, and then for Vocalion and Decca.
Prima's 1936 composition, "Sing Sing Sing", which he had released with the New Orleans Gang in March, 1936 as a Brunswick 78, Brunswick 7628, with "It's Been So Long" as the B side, became one of his biggest hits and one of the most covered standards of the swing era; Benny Goodman's performance of the song at Carnegie Hall with a featured performance by Gene Krupa on drums has become iconic.
Louis Prima and His Band
Prima moved to Los Angeles to headline at the Famous Door nightclub. He appeared in several Hollywood movies, including a featured performance with Bing Crosby in the 1936 film Rhythm on the Range. Prima and his Dixieland Gang continued to play club dates across the nation, including a 1939 stint at New York's Hickory House.
Big bands were big business then, and Prima apparently bowed to pressure from booking agents and formed a conventional big band in 1940. He exploited a distinctive, shuffling beat (which he called "Gleeby Rhythm"); this trademark Prima shuffle remained part of his repertoire for two decades. Prima sang most of the band vocals, with Lily Ann Carol as the "girl singer." Prima's high-powered drummer at this time was Jimmy Vincent, an energetic teenager who remained with the Prima band for many years.
In 1947 he added singer Cathy Ricciardi, who recorded under the name Cathy Allen. She was succeeded in 1949 by Keely Smith (who was to become his fourth wife), and the band concentrated on novelty songs like "Civilization (Bongo Bongo Bongo)" and "All Right, Louis, Drop the Gun." Prima's big band continued into the early 1950s, with a series of novelty recordings supervised (sometimes heavy-handedly) by record producer Mitch Miller.
Vegas years
The popularity of the big-band sound started to wane, and Prima began losing money, just as he needed it to support the pregnant Smith. Prima found work with Smith in small venues all over the East Coast. Eventually he called up his friend Bill Miller, who was then entertainment director of The Sahara nightclub and casino in Las Vegas, and asked for a job. His friend Cab Calloway warned him against the cramped Sahara lounge, but the financial pressure was too great. Prima telephoned saxophonist Sam Butera and instructed him to pick up a few musicians and go to Las Vegas in time for Prima's debut.
Prima acknowledged his new musicians for the opening-night crowd, and spontaneously asked Butera what the name of the band was. Butera ad-libbed, "The Witnesses!" From then on, Sam Butera and the Witnesses backed Prima and Smith on stage and records.
Prima and Smith worked hard throughout the 1950s, performing multiple shows a night and finishing at 6 a.m. Their efforts were rewarded with a resurgence in their popularity, and they were at least partly responsible for making the lounge at The Sahara a hotspot. On stage, Prima insisted on Smith adopting a humorless, poker-faced character that would play straight to Prima's zany ad libs. Smith actually had a fine sense of comedy that is often audible on the team's recordings; no matter how much the incorrigible Prima tried to disrupt her vocals, Smith would often come back with a funny remark of her own.
Louis Prima and Keely Smith were very much the model for Sonny & Cher: the exuberant Italian musician and the serious, exotic female singer, Smith and Cher both being of Cherokee descent (although Cher's heritage is primarily Armenian). Similarly, echoes of the stage banter between Prima and Butera would be heard years later in the early performances of the E Street Band and the interplay between Bruce Springsteen and Clarence Clemons.
In 1959, Prima and Smith won the Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group or Chorus for "That Old Black Magic."
In 1956 the Prima ensemble performed at the Sahara Hotel and Casino to record tracks for the album The Wildest!. It was an attempt by Capitol Records to capture the essence of the Vegas act. Over the next nine years, Prima and Smith raised two children, while he made scores of records, owned racehorses, appeared on television, and even opened a golf course. They outgrew the lounge and were promoted to the big room. They appeared in a few quickie musical films, including Senior Prom and Hey Boy! Hey Girl! Prima co-produced the feature Twist All Night, in which his band also appeared.
During this whirlwind of activity, according to Smith, the couple drifted farther and farther apart. One night, he refused to conduct for one of Smith's performances, delegating to Butera instead. A few days later they were in court, petitioning for divorce.
Later years
Following the divorce, he began dating Gia Maione. Maione was a long-time fan of Prima's, was already familiar with all the arrangements to his songs, and even kept a signed photo of him in her purse. She eventually became Prima's fifth and final wife, and was with the band right up until 1975. By this point, the band was putting out a markedly different and more contemporary sound, with electric organs and synthesizers, even dabbling in progressive rock.
In 1967 Prima's distinctive voice and jazzy delivery landed him a role in Walt Disney's animated feature The Jungle Book, as the raucous orangutan King Louie. He performed the hit song "I Wanna Be Like You" on the soundtrack, leading to the recording of two albums with Phil Harris: The Jungle Book and More Jungle Book, on Disneyland Records. He can also be heard on the soundtrack of another cartoon feature, The Man Called Flintstone.
He suffered a mild heart attack in 1973. In 1975, following headaches and episodes of memory loss, Louis Prima sought medical attention, and found out he had a stem brain tumor. He suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and went into a coma following surgery to remove the tumor. He never recovered, and died three years later, having been moved back to New Orleans. He was buried in Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans; his gray marble crypt is topped by a figure of Gabriel, the trumpeter-angel. The inscription on the crypt's door quote the lyrics from one of his hits: "When the end comes, I know, they'll all say 'just a gigolo' as life goes on without me. Lovingly, your little family..."
In his youth, Prima played trumpet with Irving Fazola, his brother's band, and the pit band of the Saenger Theater. In 1933 he began his busy recording career, as part of the David Rose orchestra at station WGN, Chicago; he was also part of the small recording group The Hotcha Trio, with Rose on piano and Norman Gast on violin. In 1934 Prima moved to New York, working regularly on 52nd Street with old New Orleans friends like Eddie Miller (tenor sax and clarinet) and George Brunies (trombone), and also new acquaintances like Pee Wee Russell (clarinet). Prima's informal jazz group was known as Louis Prima and His New Orleans Gang, and this band recorded prolifically for Brunswick through 1936, and then for Vocalion and Decca.
Prima's 1936 composition, "Sing Sing Sing", which he had released with the New Orleans Gang in March, 1936 as a Brunswick 78, Brunswick 7628, with "It's Been So Long" as the B side, became one of his biggest hits and one of the most covered standards of the swing era; Benny Goodman's performance of the song at Carnegie Hall with a featured performance by Gene Krupa on drums has become iconic.
Louis Prima and His Band
Prima moved to Los Angeles to headline at the Famous Door nightclub. He appeared in several Hollywood movies, including a featured performance with Bing Crosby in the 1936 film Rhythm on the Range. Prima and his Dixieland Gang continued to play club dates across the nation, including a 1939 stint at New York's Hickory House.
Big bands were big business then, and Prima apparently bowed to pressure from booking agents and formed a conventional big band in 1940. He exploited a distinctive, shuffling beat (which he called "Gleeby Rhythm"); this trademark Prima shuffle remained part of his repertoire for two decades. Prima sang most of the band vocals, with Lily Ann Carol as the "girl singer." Prima's high-powered drummer at this time was Jimmy Vincent, an energetic teenager who remained with the Prima band for many years.
In 1947 he added singer Cathy Ricciardi, who recorded under the name Cathy Allen. She was succeeded in 1949 by Keely Smith (who was to become his fourth wife), and the band concentrated on novelty songs like "Civilization (Bongo Bongo Bongo)" and "All Right, Louis, Drop the Gun." Prima's big band continued into the early 1950s, with a series of novelty recordings supervised (sometimes heavy-handedly) by record producer Mitch Miller.
Vegas years
The popularity of the big-band sound started to wane, and Prima began losing money, just as he needed it to support the pregnant Smith. Prima found work with Smith in small venues all over the East Coast. Eventually he called up his friend Bill Miller, who was then entertainment director of The Sahara nightclub and casino in Las Vegas, and asked for a job. His friend Cab Calloway warned him against the cramped Sahara lounge, but the financial pressure was too great. Prima telephoned saxophonist Sam Butera and instructed him to pick up a few musicians and go to Las Vegas in time for Prima's debut.
Prima acknowledged his new musicians for the opening-night crowd, and spontaneously asked Butera what the name of the band was. Butera ad-libbed, "The Witnesses!" From then on, Sam Butera and the Witnesses backed Prima and Smith on stage and records.
Prima and Smith worked hard throughout the 1950s, performing multiple shows a night and finishing at 6 a.m. Their efforts were rewarded with a resurgence in their popularity, and they were at least partly responsible for making the lounge at The Sahara a hotspot. On stage, Prima insisted on Smith adopting a humorless, poker-faced character that would play straight to Prima's zany ad libs. Smith actually had a fine sense of comedy that is often audible on the team's recordings; no matter how much the incorrigible Prima tried to disrupt her vocals, Smith would often come back with a funny remark of her own.
Louis Prima and Keely Smith were very much the model for Sonny & Cher: the exuberant Italian musician and the serious, exotic female singer, Smith and Cher both being of Cherokee descent (although Cher's heritage is primarily Armenian). Similarly, echoes of the stage banter between Prima and Butera would be heard years later in the early performances of the E Street Band and the interplay between Bruce Springsteen and Clarence Clemons.
In 1959, Prima and Smith won the Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group or Chorus for "That Old Black Magic."
In 1956 the Prima ensemble performed at the Sahara Hotel and Casino to record tracks for the album The Wildest!. It was an attempt by Capitol Records to capture the essence of the Vegas act. Over the next nine years, Prima and Smith raised two children, while he made scores of records, owned racehorses, appeared on television, and even opened a golf course. They outgrew the lounge and were promoted to the big room. They appeared in a few quickie musical films, including Senior Prom and Hey Boy! Hey Girl! Prima co-produced the feature Twist All Night, in which his band also appeared.
During this whirlwind of activity, according to Smith, the couple drifted farther and farther apart. One night, he refused to conduct for one of Smith's performances, delegating to Butera instead. A few days later they were in court, petitioning for divorce.
Later years
Following the divorce, he began dating Gia Maione. Maione was a long-time fan of Prima's, was already familiar with all the arrangements to his songs, and even kept a signed photo of him in her purse. She eventually became Prima's fifth and final wife, and was with the band right up until 1975. By this point, the band was putting out a markedly different and more contemporary sound, with electric organs and synthesizers, even dabbling in progressive rock.
In 1967 Prima's distinctive voice and jazzy delivery landed him a role in Walt Disney's animated feature The Jungle Book, as the raucous orangutan King Louie. He performed the hit song "I Wanna Be Like You" on the soundtrack, leading to the recording of two albums with Phil Harris: The Jungle Book and More Jungle Book, on Disneyland Records. He can also be heard on the soundtrack of another cartoon feature, The Man Called Flintstone.
He suffered a mild heart attack in 1973. In 1975, following headaches and episodes of memory loss, Louis Prima sought medical attention, and found out he had a stem brain tumor. He suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and went into a coma following surgery to remove the tumor. He never recovered, and died three years later, having been moved back to New Orleans. He was buried in Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans; his gray marble crypt is topped by a figure of Gabriel, the trumpeter-angel. The inscription on the crypt's door quote the lyrics from one of his hits: "When the end comes, I know, they'll all say 'just a gigolo' as life goes on without me. Lovingly, your little family..."
Let's Fall In Love
Louis Prima Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let's fall in love
Why shouldn't we fall in love?
Our hearts are made of it
Let's take a chance
Why be afraid of it?
Let's close our eyes
And make our own paradise
Little we know of it
Still we can try
To make a go of it
We might have been meant for each other
To be or not to be, let our hearts discover
Let's fall in love
Why shouldn't we fall in love?
Now is the time for it
While we are young
Let's fall in love
We might have been meant for each other
To be or not to be, let our hearts discover
Let's fall in love
Why shouldn't we fall in love?
Now is the time for it
While we are young
Let's fall in love
Why shouldn't we fall in love?
Our hearts are made of it
Let's take a chance
Why be afraid of it?
Let's close our eyes
And make our own paradise
Still we can try
To make a go of it
We might have been meant for each other
To be or not to be, let our hearts discover
Let's fall in love
Why shouldn't we fall in love?
Now is the time for it
While we are young
Let's fall in love
We might have been meant for each other
To be or not to be, let our hearts discover
Let's fall in love
Why shouldn't we fall in love?
Now is the time for it
While we are young
Let's fall in love
Louis Prima's song "Let's Fall in Love" is an upbeat and optimistic love song that encourages taking chances and following your heart. The chorus of the song invites the listener to fall in love and asks the question, "Why shouldn't we fall in love?" Prima suggests that our hearts are made for love, and that we should not be afraid of it. The song encourages the listener to take a chance on love and create their own paradise with their partner.
The song's verses focus on the idea of taking a risk, despite not knowing what the future may hold. The lyrics acknowledge that we might not know much about love, but we should still try to make it work. The idea of a "meant to be" love is also hinted at in the song, suggesting that sometimes two people are just meant to be together, and that their hearts will ultimately lead them to each other.
Overall, the song is a testament to the power and beauty of love. It invites the listener to take a leap of faith and trust in their heart's desire. The upbeat and catchy melody of the song perfectly captures the joyful feeling of falling in love and the thrill of taking risks.
Line by Line Meaning
Let's fall in love
Let's explore the possibility of falling in love
Why shouldn't we fall in love?
What is stopping us from falling in love?
Our hearts are made of it
We are all capable of love
Let's take a chance
Let's be daring and see where this goes
Why be afraid of it?
What do we have to fear with love?
Let's close our eyes
Let's commit to this moment wholeheartedly
And make our own paradise
Let's create our own perfect world together
Little we know of it
We have much to learn about love
Still we can try
Despite our lack of knowledge, we should attempt to make it work
To make a go of it
To give it a chance
We might have been meant for each other
Maybe fate brought us together
To be or not to be, let our hearts discover
Let's find out if we are meant to be together
Now is the time for it
It's the perfect time to fall in love
While we are young
While we are still full of life and energy
Let's fall in love
Let's take the leap and fall in love
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Cole Porter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Ty Guy
If every time it rains, it rains, pennies from heaven (Shooby Dooby)
Don't you know each cloud contains pennies from heaven (Shooby Dooby)
You'll find your fortune falling all over town
Be sure you're umbrella is up up up up upside down and...
Trade them all for a pack of a gum, sunshine and ravioli (Macaroni)
If you want the thing you love, you must have a pizzioli baby
And when you hear thunder don't run under a tree
It be pennies from heaven, for you and for me
Now come over here boy, Sam
And every time it rains it rains
And don't you know each cloud contains
Every time it rains, it rains
And don't you know each cloud contains
You find your fortune falling
All over town, all over town, all over town
Be sure your umbrella
Is upside down twiddily bop
A ha ba hozzie white
Eagle eye la homba lee
Zombalomba zompolot
Old wodilly boy oh
Ahhh bobba hoy boy
Ohhhh boy a hoy boy
Toddaly whoa, OOOOH!
I knew I'd get ya
I knew I'd get ya
Let's go, let's go
And you'll find your fortune falling all over town
It be pennies from heaven
Pennies from heaven
The pennies from heaven
For you and me
ENJOY!
Shibeisme
lyrics for anyone wanting to know:
If every time it rains, it rains, pennies from heaven (Shooby Dooby)
Don't you know each cloud contains pennies from heaven (Shooby Dooby)
You'll find your fortune falling all over town
Each red and yella umbrella is up up up up upside down and...
Trade them all for a pack of a gum, sunshine and ravioli (Macaroni)
If you want the thing you love, you must have a pizzioli baby
And when you hear thunder don't run under a tree
It be pennies from heaven, for you and for me
Now come over here boy, Sam
And every time it rains it rains
And don't you know each cloud contains
Every time it rains, it rains
And don't you know each cloud contains
You find your fortune falling
All over town, all over town, all over town
Each red and yella umbrella
Is upside down twiddily bop
A ha ba hozzie white
Eagle eye la homba lee
Zombalomba zompolot
Old wodilly boy oh
Ahhh bobba hoy boy
Ohhhh boy a hoy boy
Toddaly whoa, OOOOH!
I knew I'd get ya
I knew I'd get ya
Let's go, let's go
And you'll find your fortune falling all over town
It be pennies from heaven
Pennies from heaven
The pennies from heaven
For you and me
Kiki 63
If every time it rains, it rains, pennies from heaven (Shubby Dobby)
Don't you know each cloud contains pennies from heaven (Shubby Dobby)
You'll find your fortune falling all over town
Each red and yella umbrella is up up up up upside down and...
Trade them all for a pack of a gum, sunshine and ravioli (Macaroni)
If you want the thing you love, you must have a pizzioli baby
And when you hear thunder don't run under a tree
It be pennies from heaven, for you and for me
Now come over here boy, Sam
And every time it rains it rains
And don't you know each cloud contains
Every time it rains, it rains
And don't you know each cloud contains
You find your fortune falling
All over town, all over town, all over town
Each red and yella umbrella
Is upside down twiddily bop
A ha ba hozzie white
Eagle eye la homba lee
Zombalomba zompolot
Old wodilly boy oh
Ahhh bobba hoy boy
Ohhhh boy a hoy boy
Toddaly whoa, OOOOH!
I knew I'd get ya
I knew I'd get ya
Let's go, let's go
And you'll find your fortune falling all over town
It be pennies from heaven
Pennies from heaven
The pennies from heaven
For you and me
From Genius Lyrics
To sing along!
Aura
Came for the shooby dooby. Stayed for the macaroni
Amber Brignoni
This comment just made my day! Lmfao!!!
The_BrosGaminYT
Nice
krisurmn
I love this comment! Have shooby new year, dear <3
M P
Have a very shooby dooby new year humans!
Dirtiest Nastiest
The energy in this recording is so contagious! I love how he jokes at the sax player for the call and response and then the drums just start smashing as the solo goes and Louie shouting in the background, so good.
Mr G
Them cats was swinging back then, love it!
Mrs prince
I just love how you can do clearly tell they had so much fun recording this song
Sultan of Dacaad
Yeah man... lol 😎 that part
Ty Guy
If every time it rains, it rains, pennies from heaven (Shooby Dooby)
Don't you know each cloud contains pennies from heaven (Shooby Dooby)
You'll find your fortune falling all over town
Be sure you're umbrella is up up up up upside down and...
Trade them all for a pack of a gum, sunshine and ravioli (Macaroni)
If you want the thing you love, you must have a pizzioli baby
And when you hear thunder don't run under a tree
It be pennies from heaven, for you and for me
Now come over here boy, Sam
And every time it rains it rains
And don't you know each cloud contains
Every time it rains, it rains
And don't you know each cloud contains
You find your fortune falling
All over town, all over town, all over town
Be sure your umbrella
Is upside down twiddily bop
A ha ba hozzie white
Eagle eye la homba lee
Zombalomba zompolot
Old wodilly boy oh
Ahhh bobba hoy boy
Ohhhh boy a hoy boy
Toddaly whoa, OOOOH!
I knew I'd get ya
I knew I'd get ya
Let's go, let's go
And you'll find your fortune falling all over town
It be pennies from heaven
Pennies from heaven
The pennies from heaven
For you and me
ENJOY!