Louis Prima, Sam Butera and the Witnesses- photo courtesy of Louis Prima, Jr.

Louis Prima- renowned bandleader, musician and songwriter -Sing, Sing, Sing-became a Las Vegas icon.

He was born on Dec. 17th, 1907 to a musical family in New Orleans. His mother made sure that all of her children were musically inclined. Prima grew up playing a hand-me-down coronet from his older brother, Leon.

He dropped out of high school and hit the road trying to make a living as a musician. He had his first national hit in 1935 with The Lady in Red. He and comedienne Martha Raye- who hoped to also be a singer- became good friends and Prima made his national  debut on The Fleischman Hour.

In 1936, he recorded Sing, Sing, Sing which became a boffo hit for Benny Goodman. When WWII broke out, Prima was unable to enlist because of a knee injury. Prima continued performing throughout the war years even playing for one of President Roosevelt's birthday parties.

He also was on his third wife by the end of the war. He had expensive tastes in clothes and food and loved to play the ponies. But big time success kept eluding Prima.

In 1948, a young 17-year old singer named Keely Smith auditioned as a replacement for singer Lily Ann Carol.

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