And now from the other end of the country...

With St. Ambrose in the North, we have to achieve balance by looking to the South, and, guess what? Today is Louis Prima's 96th birthday. He was of Southern Italian ancestry (who came to the US via Argentina), and he was born and raised in New Orleans, so he is Southern all around.

So, with a Milanese Saint and a Sicilian sinner (isn't that a redundancy?), have a Wopalicious Day!

Enjoy the clips:

Don't miss this one:

And this is just an amazing relic of a past era, when you could smoke, sing, and pray at the dinner table on National TV! From the 1957 Dinah Shore Chevy Show, Prima has a bit part, but when he sings his two lines, you notice:

And, of course, you cannot have a tribute to Louis Prima without this (I would like to slap the editor who cut out most of Butera's solo):

Or this (probably my favorite of all these clips, and not just because of Keely Smith's reaction):

Speaking of Keely's reaction to Louis:

Of course Prima also wrote this:

And, finally, the bit of Primiana that absolutely everyone knows:

Posted by erik at December 7, 2006 10:04 AM