Editing Louis Prima (section)

{{Short description|American musician (1910–1978)}}
{{for|his son, the entertainer born in 1965|Louis Prima Jr}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name             = Louis Prima
| image            = Louis Prima crop.jpg
| caption          = Prima in 1947
| image_size       = 
| alias            = The King of Swing
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1910|12|07|mf=yes}}
| birth_place      = [[New Orleans|New Orleans, Louisiana]], U.S.
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|1978|08|24|1910|12|07|mf=yes}}
| death_place      = New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
| instrument       = {{hlist|Vocals|trumpet}}
| genre            = {{hlist|[[Jazz]]|[[swing music|swing]]|[[traditional pop]]|[[jump blues]]|[[big band]]}}
| occupation       = {{hlist|Musician|entertainer|bandleader}}
| years_active     = 1929–1975
| spouse          = {{plainlist|
* {{Marriage|Louise Polizzi|1929|1936|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Alma Ross|1936|1945|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Tracelene Barrett|1945|1952|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Keely Smith]]|1953|1961|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Gia Maione]]|1963|}}
}}
| label            = [[Capitol Records|Capitol]], [[Dot Records|Dot]]
| associated_acts  = {{hlist|[[Gia Maione]]|[[Keely Smith]]|[[Sam Butera]] and the Witnesses|[[Lou Sino]]}} [[Ray Vasquez]] Vocalist and Trombonist
| website          = {{URL|www.louisprima.com}}
| birth_name       = Louis Leo Prima
}}

'''Louis Leo Prima''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|uː|i|_|ˈ|p|r|iː|m|ə}}; December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978)<ref name="allmusic" /> was an American trumpeter, singer, entertainer, and bandleader. While rooted in [[New Orleans]] [[jazz]], [[swing music]], and [[jump blues]], Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he formed a seven-piece [[Dixieland|New Orleans–style jazz]] band in the late 1920s, fronted a [[swing (genre)|swing]] combo in the 1930s and a [[big band]] group in the 1940s, helped to popularize [[jump blues]] in the late 1940s and early to mid 1950s, and performed frequently as a [[Las Vegas Valley|Vegas]] [[lounge music|lounge act]] beginning in the 1950s.

From the 1940s through the 1960s, his music further encompassed early [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] and [[rock 'n' roll]], [[boogie-woogie]], and [[Italian folk music]], such as the [[tarantella]]. Prima made prominent use of Italian music and [[Italian language|language]] in his songs, blending elements of his [[Italians|Italian]] and [[Sicilians|Sicilian]] identity with jazz and swing music. At a time when ethnic musicians were discouraged from openly stressing their ethnicity, Prima's conspicuous embrace of his Sicilian ethnicity opened the doors for other Italian-American and ethnic American musicians to display their ethnic roots.

Prima is also known for providing the voice for the [[orangutan]] [[King Louie]] in the 1967 [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Disney]] film ''[[The Jungle Book (1967 film)|The Jungle Book]]''.