Chicago Italians

He has crooned many a Mobster

A tireless showman and an underrated musical talent, Louis Prima swung his way to icon status thanks to an irresistible, infectious sound whose appeal translated across generations. Nominally a swing artist, Prima's distinctive sound also encompassed New Orleans-style jazz, boogie-woogie, jump blues, R&B, early rock & roll, and even the occasional Italian tarantella. Regardless of what form his music took, it swung hard and fast, with a rolling, up-tempo shuffle beat that helped some of his earlier material cross over to R&B audiences (his songs were also covered by jump blues artists from time to time). His greatest period of popularity coincided with his marriage to singer Keely Smith, whose coolly sophisticated vocals and detached stage manner made a perfect counterpoint to Prima's boisterous presence: mugging, clowning, and cavorting around the stage with the boundless enthusiasm of a hyperactive boy. Prima's band during this time was anchored by tenor saxophonist Sam Butera, whose grounding in jump blues and New Orleans R&B was a perfect match. Perhaps because Prima refused to take his music too seriously, sober-minded jazz critics often dismissed him as a mere entertainer, overlooking his very real talent as a jazzman. He was a capable, gravelly-voiced singer modeled on Louis Armstrong, boasting a surprising range, and was also a fine trumpet player, again in the irrepressible mold of Armstrong; what was more, he wrote Benny Goodman's perennial swing smash "Sing, Sing, Sing." Prima's impact on popular culture was also significant; his pronounced ethnicity made it safe for other Italian-American singers to acknowledge their roots, and he was the first high-profile musical act to take up regular residence in the lounges and casinos of Las Vegas, helping to start the city's transformation into a broader-based entertainment capital. His musical legacy proved long-lasting, as covers of his classics became modern-day hits for David Lee Roth and Brian Setzer; additionally, the '90s swing revival, which sought to re-emphasize the danceability and sense of fun that had largely disappeared from jazz, brought Prima's music back into the limelight (as well as the good graces of critics).

Louis Prima was born December 7, 1911 in New Orleans, LA, to an Italian family who'd emigrated to the U.S. by way of Argentina. He took violin lessons as a youth, but switched to trumpet at age 15 when his older brother went out on tour with a band and left a spare instrument behind. By 17, Prima was playing professionally at a New Orleans theater, influenced chiefly by Louis Armstrong and King Oliver. This was a problem, since the theater was not a jazz venue, and Prima was fired. In the early '30s, he caught on with cornetist Red Nichols for a time, and moved to New York in 1934 at the urging of star bandleader Guy Lombardo, who had been impressed with Prima's trumpet playing. Initially struggling to find work, Prima formed a Dixieland-style backing group called the New Orleans Gang and landed a regular gig at a 52nd Street club known as the Famous Door. The band was a hit, adopting "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" as their signature song, and recorded numerous sides for a succession of labels up through 1939; some of the better-known members included -- at various points -- clarinetist Pee Wee Russell, pianist Claude Thornhill, guitarist George Van Eps, reedman Eddie Miller, and trombonist George Brunies. Prima also traveled to Los Angeles periodically, and made cameo appearances in several Hollywood musicals, starting with the Bing Crosby Western Rhythm on the Range in 1936.

Meanwhile, Prima was composing original material, and in 1937 he completed a song called "Sing, Sing, Sing." Benny Goodman recorded an instrumental version and had a huge smash with it the following year, spotlighting it in his legendary Carnegie Hall appearance; to this day it remains one of the most readily identifiable melodies of the swing era. Prima broke up the New Orleans Gang in 1939 to form his own big band, which he dubbed the Gleeby Rhythm Orchestra. Following World War II, the band started to take off, landing hits with novelty numbers that often drew upon Prima's Italian background and accent. The first was 1944's "Angelina," a major success that paved the way for titles like "Felicia No Capicia," "Bacciagaloop (Makes Love on the Stoop)," "Please No Squeeza Da Banana," and "Josephina, Please No Leana on the Bell." Prima also made the Hit Parade Top Ten with songs like "Robin Hood" (1944; covered the next year by Les Brown for a bigger hit), "Bell Bottom Trousers" (sung by Lily Ann Carol in 1945), and "Civilization (Bongo, Bongo, Bongo)" (1947). He also wrote Jo Stafford's 1947 hit "A Sunday Kind of Love."}

In 1948, Prima hired a new female vocalist for his band, a 16-year-old Norfolk, Virginia native named Dorothy Keely, who was renamed Keely Smith. Prima parlayed her initial shyness into a stage routine where he attempted to break down her icily reserved façade. The contrast in their styles made for immediate chemistry, and Smith's boyish haircut only added to the duo's distinctive stage presence. Prima broke up the big band in 1949, and continued to work with Smith as a more streamlined nightclub act. They scored a hit in 1950 with their co-composition "Oh Babe!" and toured the country over the next few years. In the summer of 1953, Smith became Prima's fourth wife.

By late 1954, Prima was finding bookings harder and harder to come by. He talked a friend into booking him for an extended stay at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, and while passing through New Orleans, he recruited locally popular tenor saxophonist Sam Butera as a possible collaborator if things went well. They did, and Prima called Butera out to Vegas, asking him to bring a few more musicians; the new group debuted at the Sahara on the day after Christmas, and Butera dubbed them the Witnesses during Prima's first on-stage introduction. Their act quickly became a sensation around Las Vegas, and their engagement turned into a residency, billed as "The Wildest Show in Vegas," which ran up to five times a night. Prima and Smith's comic banter was riddled with sexual innuendo, and they sometimes rewrote the lyrics to popular standards in the same spirit; meanwhile, Butera's jump blues/R&B background kept the music equally lively. Even if the music was aimed at older listeners, it shared a great deal of the spirit of early rock & roll.

In 1956, Prima inked a new deal with Capitol, which marked the beginning of the most celebrated and influential period of his recording career. His first album for the label was 1956's The Wildest!, which successfully translated the high energy of his live act into a studio recording; it featured many of his best-known latter-day songs, including the "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody" medley, "Jump, Jive an' Wail," "Buona Sera," "Oh Marie," and the jive-talking duet "The Lip." Over the next few years, Capitol issued six more Prima albums, highlighted by 1957's The Call of the Wildest and 1958's concert set The Wildest Show in Tahoe. He appeared frequently on The Ed Sullivan Show and other variety programs, and in 1958 he and Smith won a Grammy for their hit version of "That Old Black Magic." In 1959, they appeared in the film Hey Boy! Hey Girl!, which featured their renditions of the title song, "Lazy River," and "Banana Split for My Baby," among others.

While Prima and Smith boasted terrific chemistry on stage, their infidelity-riddled marriage was floundering by the close of the '50s. In 1961, Prima switched from Capitol to Dot Records, and from the Sahara Hotel to the Desert Inn; with his popularity still running high, both deals netted huge sums of money. However, Smith divorced him later that year, scuttling the act and largely negating the deals. Prima returned to Capitol for one final album, 1962's The Wildest Comes Home, and hired a new female vocalist, Gia Maione, who became his fifth wife in 1963. Without Smith, he was never again as popular or prolific on record, but he continued to perform in Las Vegas with Butera and the Witnesses, and toured successfully as well. In 1967, Disney tapped Prima to voice the character of King Louie, ruler of the orangutans, in its animated adaptation of The Jungle Book; his featured number, the swinging "I Wanna Be Like You," ranks among the best-loved Disney songs of its era.

Prima spent much of the late '60s and early '70s playing Vegas casinos and lounges, most notably at the Sands Hotel. With more and more musical acts taking up residence in the city, Prima no longer had the drawing power of old, and in the early '70s he and Butera returned home to New Orleans, where they made a steadier living playing in the French Quarter for the tourist crowd. In late 1975, Prima underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor, and fell into a coma; although he survived for nearly three more years, he never regained consciousness, and died on August 24, 1978. Prima's music began to reappear in subsequent years; ex-Van Halen singer David Lee Roth scored the best-remembered hit of his solo career with a carbon-copy version of "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody" in 1985, and onetime Stray Cat Brian Setzer scored a Grammy-winning hit with his cover of "Jump, Jive an' Wail." Prima's original version was featured in a Gap commercial around the same time, and the swing-dancing fad of the time helped bring the rest of his music back into the public eye. Meanwhile, Sam Butera continued to perform Prima hits from the golden years on the casino circuits in Las Vegas and Atlantic City

A Brief Musical History

1969: After forming a band which would be known a “TW4” a few years prior, neighbors Dennis DeYoung and brothers Chuck and John Panozzo enroll at Chicago State University. Although the band had already performed in, and around, the Chicago area, C.S.U. would become the group’s base. The trio hooks up with another student, John Curulewski, who takes over the helm on guitar.
1970: Guitarists James “JY” Young- who was performing with a rival band in Chicago-joins the quartet. The new line-up begins taking a different direction with more musical experiments, with classical/rock fusions and electronic trickeries.
1971: The band’s demo is heard by the Wooden Nickel label, who would subsequently offer the band a recording contract the following year.
1972: The band is renamed STYX after a mythological river if the dead-a decision made by the band members. STYX I is released. The single, “Best Thing” (written by DeYoung and “JY”), reaches the Top 100 on the charts by the end of the year.
1973: STYX II is released, and although it doesn’t chart immediately, the Dennis DeYoung penned ballad, “Lady”, gets considerable airplay on Chicago radio. The band concentrates on their touring efforts in support of the single’s success, and creates a vast following of fans. The band will release The Serpent Is Rising toward the end of the year.
1974: The Serpent is Rising cracks the Top 200 Albums Chart in February, followed up by Man of Miracles, which reaches even higher position in November. “Lady” would be re-released as a single with national promotion, and the song would be propelled to #6 on the U.S. charts.
1975: STYX II rockets up the charts as a result of the success of “Lady.” It would reach #20, and sell over 500,000 units. In September, after searching for a larger and more supportive label, STYX would sign with powerhouse A&M Records. Two months later, Equinox, featuring the single “Lorelei”-would be the first A&M release, immediately reaching gold status (and eventually going platinum). At the end of the year, guitarist John Curulewski would leave the band. The band’s road manager recommends 23-year-old Tommy Shaw-then guitarist for Chicago based band “MS Funk”-as a replacement. A week after auditioning, Tommy Shaw joined the band.

1977: On July 7th (7/7/77), the band released The Grand Illusion.
1978: In January, A&M Records releases the single “Come Sail Away,” which would enter the Top 10. The parent album, The Grand Illusion, hits #6 as a result of the single’s success, and eventually becomes the first album from STYX to go platinum. The singles, “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man),” and “Miss America” contribute to the success of the album. Later in the year, the band would follow up with another platinum-selling album (reaching #6) titled, Pieces of Eight, featuring the hit singles, “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights),” “Renegade,” and “Sing for the Day.”
1979: A national Gallup poll would reveal that STYX is the most popular rock band with teenagers (13-19 year olds). By December, the band’s newest album release, Cornerstone, would hit #2 on the U.S. charts, earning the band it’s third consecutive platinum album. The singles, “Babe” (reaching #1 on the charts and becoming their highest-selling single of their career), “Why Me,” and “Borrowed Time” generate mass sales.
1981: Beginning early in the year, STYX would embark on an ambitious 110 date, six-month North American tour. In April, the album Paradise Theatre would be released, soon reaching platinum success (STYX would now have four consecutive platinum albums under their belt), and remaining at #1 on the U.S. charts for three weeks. Two hit singles-“The Best of Times” and “Too Much Time on My Hands”-reach #3 and #9, respectively, on the U.S. charts. The band would become the first in the history of rock ‘n’ roll to have four consecutive triple-platinum albums.
1983: STYX releases concept album, Kilroy Was Here, and will tour in support of it most of the year. A stage act is built around the album, in which costumed band members have roles and dialogue in addition to performing songs. It would become one of the most ambitious rock ‘n’ roll tours ever. The single “Mr. Roboto,” reaches #3, and becomes the second million-selling single in the band’s history (“Babe” being the first). Another single, “Don’t Let It End,” also goes Top 10.
1984: The band releases a double live album titled, Caught in the Act. Although the album is well received by the record buying public, both Dennis DeYoung and Tommy Shaw decide to pursue solo projects (also on A&M records). Subsequently, the band is put on hold. Dennis DeYoung’s Desert Moon and Tommy Shaw’s Girls With Guns both enter top 50.
1985: In December, Tommy Shaw releases What If, which enters the Top 100, and spawns a single, “Ever Since the World Began.”
1986: Dennis DeYoung releases second solo album, Back to the World, and will also contribute a single (not from album), “This Is the Time,” to the movie, “The Karate Kid Part II.” James Young released his first solo effort, City Slicker, a collaboration with Jan Hammer.
1988: Dennis DeYoung releases another solo album, entitled Bloomchild (on MCA)
1990: Tommy Shaw forms a new band, Damn Yankees, with former Night Ranger vocalist/bassist Jack Blades, guitar virtuoso Ted Nugent, and drummer Michael Cartellone. The self-titled debut album will produce two hit singles, “High Enough” and “Coming of Age,” and will eventually sell over 2 million copies on Warner Bros. Records. The band tours extensively with Bad Company, and the album reaches #26. Toward the end of the year, STYX will reunite without Shaw (replaced by Glen Burtnik), and will release the album, Edge of the Century, which begins to garner acclaim.
1991: A single from Edge of the Century titled, “Show Me the Way,” begins chart ascension into the Top 10 during the Gulf War. With the success of the single, STYX joins an elite group of acts who have had Top 10 hits under each of the last four United States Presidents (and Top 10 hits in three different decades).
1992: Damn Yankees release their second effort, Don’t Tread, on Warner Bros. Records. The album, which features the singles “ Don’t Tread” and “Where Are You Goin’ Now?, would eventually reach platinum status. The video for the title track would be aired throughout the 1992 Olympics.
1994: In addition to playing the roll of Pontius Pilate in the national company of Jesus Christ Superstar (to rave reviews), Dennis DeYoung cuts an album of show tunes for Atlantic Records entitled 10 on Broadway.
1995: STYX release Greatest Hits: Volume 1, featuring a re-recorded version of “Lady” with Tommy Shaw (who had not yet joined the band when it was originally recorded). Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades release an album, Hallucination, as Shaw*Blades (Warner Bros. Records). The album would be co-produced by Don Gehman of REM/John Mellencamp fame. James Young forms the James Young Group, with other Chicago musicians and tours in support of their album, Raised by Wolves (Absolute/Whitehouse).
1996: In May, the classic (and most successful) line-up returns with “The Return to the Paradise Theatre” tour, which was seen in over 50 cities. Greatest Hits: Volume II was released in the summer featuring a few new songs. For the first time in thirteen years, Dennis DeYoung, James Young, Tommy Shaw, and Chuck Panozzo were “Rockin’ The Paradise.” Again…
1997: In May, CMC International Records, a division of BMG Entertainment, releases a double album of new studio tracks plus live recording of Greatest Hits from the ’96 tour, appropriately titled, Return to Paradise. Due to popular demand, STYX embarks on a 50-city North American tour in support of the release.
1998: Tommy Shaw releases a solo album in CMC, 7 Deadly Zens and hits the road opening shows for Lynyrd Skynyrd. Dennis DeYoung returns to his theatrical calling as his “Hunchback of Notre Dame” enjoys a successful run in Nashville. The band starts making plans for a new studio album-the classic line-up’s first in 16 years.
1999: The band goes in to the studio in Chicago and Los Angeles to record Brave New World which is released on June 29th. A tour begins in July, which will run through the end of the year.
2000: The band embarks on a 40 city co-headline tour with REO Speedwagon. The tour is so successful that the two bands record and release a double live album and DVD, “Arch Allies – Live at Riverport”. They then extend the tour (to date, Styx and REO have played over 90 shows together, consistently generating hugely successful box office numbers.)
2001: Styxworld Live 2001 is released, containing tracks recorded in Canada, Japan and Germany. The band continues its heavy touring schedule, playing 121 shows, including a 40 city tour with Bad Company that donates over $100,000 to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Education Fund, marking the first time in history that the Rock Hall attaches its name to a tour.
2002: Styx plays over 90 shows and records a new studio album, set for release in the winter of 2003.
2003: Styx releases Cyclorama on February 18, 2003. The band tours extensively throughout the year in support of the record.