Louis Prima (né Louis Leo Prima; 7 December 1910 – 24 August 1978) was an Italian-American singer, actor, songwriter, bandleader, and trumpeter. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he formed a seven-piece New Orleans-style jazz band in the late 1920's, fronted a swing combo in the 1930's and a big band group in the 1940's, helped to popularize jump blues in the late 1940's and early to mid 1950's, and performed as a Vegas lounge act in the late 1950's and 1960's.
From the 1940's through the 1960's, his music further encompassed early R'n'B and rock'n'roll, boogie-woogie, and even Italian folk music, such as the tarantella. Prima made prominent use of Italian music and language in his songs, blending elements of his Italian identity with jazz and swing music. At a time when "ethnic" musicians were often discouraged from openly stressing their ethnicity, Prima's conspicuous embrace of his Italian ethnicity opened the doors for other Italian-American and "ethnic" American musicians to display their ethnic roots.
