[Dixielandjazz] Louis Prima honored

[Harry Callaghan]

I was pleased to read here that Louis Prima Jr. is keeping alive the memory
of Sam Butera by calling his band the Witnesses.

Back in '86 when I saw Sam & the Witnesses here in Houston, one of his
sidemen told me that Sam and Keely had a falling out and she had a court
order issued restraining him from using "The WIldest": in the title of his
show, which he was just doing to carry on the Prima tradition.

I understand that Sam & Keely patched things up prior to his death last year
although I don't know if they ever performed together.again.

The first time I had seen  them together was on a Jerry Lewis telethon in
perhaps '77 and when they did "That Old Black Magic", you could close your
eyes and almost think it was Louis & Keely, who received a Grammy for their
Capitol hit in 1958.

They just don't make 'em like that anymore.

Tides
HC


On 7/27/10, Robert Ringwald <rsr at ringwald.com> wrote:
>
> Louis Prima Gets Posthumous Hollywood Star
> Associated Press, July 26, 2010
>
> LOS ANGELES -- "King of Swing" Louis Prima has received a posthumous star
> on the
> Hollywood Walk of Fame in a centennial celebration that included dancing in
> the street
> to his big-band sounds.
> The influential band leader was honored at a Sunday ceremony on Vine Street
> attended
> by his son Louis Prima Jr., who continues the legacy of his father's music,
> his daughter
> Lena Prima, celebrities, dignitaries and fans.
> "Louis Prima was a great entertainer and presented a great show. But more
> than anything
> else, he brought happiness to his audiences," said Bill Cosby in a
> congratulatory
> message read at the midday ceremony, which also included a concert of
> Prima's music
> by Louis Prima Jr.'s big band, The Witnesses, as well as swing-dancing
> fans.
> Prima, who died in 1978, would have been 100 years old this year.
>
>
> --Bob Ringwald
> www.ringwald.com
> Fulton Street Jazz Band
> 916/806-9551
> Amateur (Ham) Radio K6YBV
>
> "We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like
> a man standing
> in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle"
> -- Winston Churchill
>
>
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