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..."
Whistle Stop
Louis Prima Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Ooh, ooh, do wade, ooh, ooh, ooh)
I live in a Whistle Stop town
Where everyone thinks I'm a clown
Because I like to hear the train whistles blow
Just because the trains never stop
But I like to hear the train whistles blow
They don't know that you're coming back to me
One day the train will stop and they will see
I know the train will bring you home
I hope and pray it won't be long
That's why I like to hear the train whistles blow
Bring her back to me, bring her back to me
Bring her back to me, bring her back to me
They don't know that you're coming back to me
One day the train will stop and they will see
(Oomba, oomba, oomba, oomba)
I know the train will bring you home
I hope and pray it won't be long
That's why I like to hear the train whistle blow
Bring her back to me, bring her back to me
Bring her back to me, bring her back to me
(Ooh, ooh, do wade, ooh, ooh, do wade)
(Ooh, ooh, do wade, ooh)
The lyrics of Whistle Stop describe the love and longing of someone who lives in a small town dominated by trains. The singer is ridiculed by others for finding joy in hearing the train whistles blow, as they pass through without stopping. Yet, the singer remains hopeful that the train will one day bring their loved one back to them. The repetition of "bring her back to me" reflects the desperation and sincerity of this hope.
The song is layered with both literal and metaphorical meaning. On one level, the lyrics describe the experience of a person living in a town where trains are a constant presence. The sound of the train whistle brings them comfort and a sense of familiarity. But on a deeper level, the train represents hope and the promise of reunion with a loved one. The train never stops, but the singer believes that one day it will, and when it does, everyone will see that their hope was not in vain.
Overall, Whistle Stop is a bittersweet song that captures the universal experience of longing for something or someone that is out of reach. It is a reminder that hope and persistence can prevail, even in the face of ridicule and doubt.
Line by Line Meaning
I live in a Whistle Stop town
My dwelling is situated in a remote town known for its frequent train whistles
Where everyone thinks I'm a clown
The town's residents view me as foolish or eccentric due to my fondness for train whistles
Because I like to hear the train whistles blow
I derive great pleasure from the sound of train whistles and frequently listen for them
Just because the trains never stop
As the trains merely pass through the town without stopping, people question my interest in the whistles
They say that I'm gonna blow my top
Critics speculate that my love of train whistles will lead to my emotional breakdown
But I like to hear the train whistles blow
Despite the ridicule, I still find joy in the sound of train whistles
They don't know that you're coming back to me
The townspeople are unaware that a loved one is returning to me via train
One day the train will stop and they will see
When the train finally halts in the town and my loved one disembarks, my critics will understand my affinity for the whistles
I know the train will bring you home
I have confidence in the train's ability to transport my beloved back to me
I hope and pray it won't be long
Although eager for my loved one's arrival, I also hope for a safe and timely journey
That's why I like to hear the train whistles blow
My affinity for train whistles is rooted in the assurance that they signal my loved one's imminent return
Bring her back to me, bring her back to me
I eagerly anticipate my loved one's homecoming via train
(Oomba, oomba, oomba, oomba)
Non-lyrical scatting, possibly serving as a musical interlude or transition
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JIMMY BREEDLOVE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
PixieTV
One of my favorites right meow 😎
Alt Delete
I loved this song as a kid and I still do listen to that sax!
Rach711
Grew up with music I love it reminds me of when my dad an I would dance in the living room
lasagna1955
simple song......genius performer
whitefalcon64
I'm still owning the original 45rpm... it's fantastic !!
Bang Er
That whistle hits different it instantly makes you much happier
Chris Thornton
Thanks for the upload, definitely a foot-tapping song!
Antoinette Arceo
love him !!!
Aramis419
Why is it than on all the Louis Prima CD's I have, this isn't on any of 'em? I grew up in an Italian-'medigon family and this was the background music for every gathering of the famiglia. Now I feel like a jadrool.
severesharky 1
who else is listning to this in 2020