Before teaming up with Keely Smith, Prima was already a popular trumpet player, singer and consumate SHOWMAN for over a decade who'd already been married three times. He had scored success by writing the swing anthem "Sing, Sing, Sing" a huge hit for for Benny Goodman, and scored with some novelty tunes for himself like "Robin Hood", "Bell Bottom Trousers" in 1945 and 1948's "Civilization (Bongo Bongo Bongo)". Prima had emerged from the New Orleans jazz scene, before starting a big band, and his charm & looks had him selling out major venues nationwide including drawing record crowds to New York's Paramount Theater. His records often played upon his Sicilian heritage, and novelty tracks included "Please No Squeeza Da Banana," and "Josephine, Please No Lean On The Bell."
He was considered a bit philanderous, and dated numerous women even when married. The boisterous & colorful Italian-American performer had already operated a nightclub under the name the "Famous Door" in Los Angeles where he also began dating starlets & using show biz contacts to appear in some films alongside fellow performers like Bing Crosby.
Dorothy Jacqueline Keely aka Keely Smith was discovered by Prima in Norfolk VA on tour in the late 1940's. She came up to the bandstand and won an impromptu talent contest with her voice. Prima took an instant liking to her dry wit and got the young girl's mother to sign a permission slip and she hit the road with the band. At the time Prima was signed to Columbia, and they began recording material under the direction of Mitch Miller.
Prima's career had many ups & downs, and his financial status was always precarious. By the early 1950's, with his popularity waning he could no longer afford to pay a big band, and he could find no steady work anymore on the east coast. After a desperate plea to an old talent agent friend, he was signed to play five graveyard sets in a small lounge in a new Las Vegas casino called the Sahara in 1954. Legend has it that Prima was so broke when he arrived in the desert outpost that his shoes had holes in them.
Explaining his situation to his brother in New Orleans, it was arranged that a small combo of young musicians led by Sam Butera would be shipped out to Las Vegas pronto to back Louis & Keely.
Barely having met before their opening night, the group instantly became a hit in Las Vegas, and they performed nightly from midnight until 6 am. Prima would blow his horn ala Louis Armstrong, joking, jigging and jostling against Butera on the tiny stage. Keely would ignore the boys hyperactive hub bub, filing her nails, and looking bored & blase' between her vocal lines. The audiences ate up the mix of comedy & hot swing sounds.
The tiny Casbar lounge began filling up early and joining stray gamblers some nights were other show people and celebrities like Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack entourage. Suddenly, like a phoenix, Prima was back on top and was offered a recording contract from Sinatra's label Capitol.
They had numeous hits, and the casino show excitement was captured live for the 1956 album the album The Wildest! They later won a Grammy in 1959 for their collaboration on "That Old Black Magic".
The liner notes described their combination of talents:
"By all odds, the combination of Louis Prima and Keely Smith shouldn't work. How could Louis, a confirmed inciter to riot, and Keely, normally a model of smoky-voiced sobriety, do anything but clash? But clash they don't. Explode they do!"
-from The Hits Of Louis And Keely, Capitol Records
Despite having two children, Prima and Smith divorced in the early 1960's after it became apparent the couple were no longer aligned, most conspicuously the curious culprit Louis "Just a Gigolo" Prima being unable to curb his wandering eye. He eventually remarried for a 5th and final time to Gia Maione and continued the act in a similar vein while Keely Smith went on to a solo career that continues to this day as a popular balladeer.
The Lip
Louis Prima & Keely Smith Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I met a trumpet playin' character and man alive
When he began to rip, he really played it from the hip
And when I asked about his name, they told me, that's The Lip
(Yip yip yip yip)
No one plays high notes like The Lip
He's got a tone that's reminiscent of a boy named Bix
And when I asked him does he read
He says, I'll tell you, hon'
I read a little bit but not enough to hurt me none
(Yip yip yip yip)
No one plays high notes like The Lip
I said The Lip
(She must mean Ray Anthony, huh)
I said The Lip
(No, man, she means Harry James)
I said The Lip
(You mean Louis Prima)
I said The Lip
(Noo, Lip er ace)
(Yip yip yip yip)
No one plays high notes like The Lip
I never heard a trumpet player play a note so high
I had to coax a lot before The Lip would tell me why
Then he took out a little jar that's labelled high note grease
And he rubs a little every night on his mouthpiece
(Yip yip yip yip)
No one plays high notes like The Lip
Listen here gal, are you kiddin' about all that high note grease?
No, man, I swear, he had ten in a big valise
Wha', you mean he goes to the drugstore
And gets them from the medicine shelf?
No, some cat's told me he makes it himself
(Yip yip yip yip)
Tell us the secret of The Lip
Well, you take a bucketful of steam
And a dozen rooster eggs
And you mix 'em up gently with a bushel full of goldfish legs
And ya hang 'em on a sky hook in the midnight sun
Mmm and then you fry them until they're done
(Yip yip yip yip)
That's the secret of The Lip
Louis Prima’s song “The Lip” tells the story of a meeting with a trumpet player nicknamed “The Lip” whom the singer encountered at a seedy bar in Mississippi. The Lip is described as an incredibly talented player who plays extremely high notes reminiscent of Bix Beiderbecke. The singer is so taken with The Lip that they ask him about his playing and are even curious about his methods of achieving such high notes.
The song strings together a narrative of tales of this trumpeter's nickname being alternately confused with those of Harry James, Louis Prima or Ray Anthony. Finally, the singer asks The Lip for the secret of his talent and the response is humorous; The Lip explains that he rubs high note grease on his mouthpiece, and he even concocts it himself using steam, rooster eggs, goldfish legs and a sky hook.
“The Lip” is a song that humorously celebrates the legend of a talented, larger-than-life trumpeter with a keen wit about his abilities, and the absurdity of some of the stories that can circulate about talented figures in the music industry.
Line by Line Meaning
Down on the Mississippi River in a knockdo dive
I was at a dive bar near the Mississippi River
I met a trumpet playin' character and man alive
I met a trumpet player with quite a persona
When he began to rip, he really played it from the hip
When he started playing, he did it in a wild, original way
And when I asked about his name, they told me, that's The Lip
When I asked for his name, they told me he's known as The Lip
(Yip yip yip yip)
Backup singing
No one plays high notes like The Lip
Nobody can play high notes quite like The Lip can
He's got a tone that's reminiscent of a boy named Bix
His playing reminds me of another trumpet player named Bix
He plays so high that only dogs can hear him, just for kicks
He plays so high that only dogs can hear him--just for fun
And when I asked him does he read
I asked him if he could read music
He says, I'll tell you, hon'
He responds with a term of endearment
I read a little bit but not enough to hurt me none
He does read music, but not enough to bother him
I said The Lip
I mentioned The Lip's name
(She must mean Ray Anthony, huh)
Someone thought I was referring to Ray Anthony
(No, man, she means Harry James)
Someone else thought I was referring to Harry James
(You mean Louis Prima)
Another person guessed I meant Louis Prima
(Noo, Lip er ace)
Finally, someone realizes I was talking about The Lip himself
I never heard a trumpet player play a note so high
I'd never heard someone play trumpet so high before
I had to coax a lot before The Lip would tell me why
I had to persuade The Lip to tell me his secret
Then he took out a little jar that's labelled high note grease
He showed me his jar of high note grease
And he rubs a little every night on his mouthpiece
He applies a small amount to his mouthpiece each night
(Yip yip yip yip)
Backup singing
Listen here gal, are you kiddin' about all that high note grease?
Someone doubts that high note grease can really help play high notes
No, man, I swear, he had ten in a big valise
I swear he had ten jars of high note grease in a big suitcase
Wha', you mean he goes to the drugstore
Someone asks if he buys it from a drugstore
And gets them from the medicine shelf?
They ask if he gets them from the medicine aisle
No, some cat's told me he makes it himself
I heard from someone that he makes it himself
(Yip yip yip yip)
Backup singing
Tell us the secret of The Lip
Someone asks for The Lip's secret
Well, you take a bucketful of steam
His secret is humorous, not real
And a dozen rooster eggs
He lists off ingredients that are impossible to mix together
And you mix 'em up gently with a bushel full of goldfish legs
He continues to list off ridiculous ingredients
And ya hang 'em on a sky hook in the midnight sun
He describes another impossible step
Mmm and then you fry them until they're done
He concludes his recipe with something that is impractical to do
(Yip yip yip yip)
Backup singing
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: RAYMOND KLAGES, VICK, SR. KNIGHT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mitzicowell
I read a little bit but not enough to hurt me none. Hallelujah.
@skooterbrah
I love this song!!! Louis and Keely were an amazing duo!
@kevinsalveson3831
Just love Louie Prima and this song. I remember hearing it at about age 5 on my dad's put it together yourself Heathkit stereo system! What a great hook, that yip yip yip!
@the-dullahan
But not enough to spell his name right.
@johnnybombay8076
This is what makes music memorable and fun!
@davidamatoofficiel
I love it!!
@josephtoman6451
For Sale By Owner: 12 jars "High Note" grease . Also, one valise, large, brown, lightly used. Serious inquiries only.
@rredhawk
0:27 "...a boy named Bix..." Bix Beiderbecke reference. Cool!
@davidcoyle1084
R.I.P. Keely Smith.
@ClockworkRockStar
It's just crazy that Jazz doesn't hold popular appeal anymore!