Louis Prima by Garry Boulard
Louis Prima infused the grit and grace of Dixieland jazz with swing and big band sounds, the first whiffs of rock 'n' roll, and a vaudevillian stage presence. Garry Boulard pens the biography of the underrated jazz musician, Las Vegas mainstay, and popular entertainer. A native of New Orleans, Prima was a Guy Lombardo protégé known as "The Italian Satchmo" who became the country's new jazz sensation at New York's Famous Door in the 1930s. He went on to success as a big band leader before virtually creating the lounge act as a Las Vegas nightclub staple. Employing and later marrying singer Keely Smith, Prima rode high with a series of hit songs and smash albums in the Fifties. But Boulard also looks past the over-the-top stage antics to restore Prima's legacy as an overlooked jazz musician and vocalist, and as a bandleader with an uncanny ability to fuse disparate styles into music that kept audiences cheering and dancing for decades.
Garry Boulard is a New Orleans writer. His books include Huey Long Invades New Orleans: The Siege of a City, 1934-36 and The Big Lie: Hale Boggs, Lucille May Grace, and Leander Perez in 1951.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780252070907 |
| ISBN 10 | 0252070909 |
| Title | Louis Prima |
| Author | Garry Boulard |
| Series | Music In American Life |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | University of Illinois Press |
| Year published | 2002-06-26 |
| Number of pages | 208 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |