Weekend Song – Louis Prima
October 6, 2007
If this song doesn’t capture one of the greatest vocal performances in the history of popular music then what are any of us really doing?
In terms of delivering a great frontman performance, Louis Prima read the back of the box (once), threw it away, fixed a delivish twinkle in his eye and said through a steely grin: “Here’s what we’re going to do.”
Confessional. Self-effacing. Self-assured. Riding the horn solos like a wild fuck, building like an empire, then crushing all before it. The Romans should have done it like this.
The time is April 1956. The place is the Capitol Records Tower, which opened earlier that month.
It starts off like a piano bar number, a little rye, perhaps a shade Noel Coward.
The snare comes in after the second verse. It’s a great clean hard snare sound, not before and even then only halfway through the first chorus.
What were they thinking???
It’s a great clean, hard snare sound, almost like a military, deep marching band snare.
But here it comes. Bridge.
And I’ll sing her – sweet love songs…
And it draws no conclusions.
She will only be…
It shouldn’t work.
Bab de bo ze bad. Diddlybap.
Oh and it’s nobody. Cares for me there’s nobody cares for me.
Say again?
“Cares for me there’s” ??
It shouldn’t work. But oh god how it does.
He shouts through the horn solo. “Let him blow! Let him blow!” The tenor sax is wailing and he’s backing off like anything could happen.
Where in the rules, right?
This is followed by the greatest trombone solo ever recorded. That’s James “Red” Blount.
Then it holds the same note for the staccatos while the sax changes notes.
Scat singing and chorus and (who’s with me?!) we’re going all in this time.
Baby. Honey. Sugar. Darling. I. Ain’t. Got. Nobody.
Keep up, and a straight face.
Gergious gergious.
Now wrap it up.
And that.
Is how.
It’s done.
Listen: Louis Prima – Just A Gigolo / I Ain’t Got Nobody
15 comments
Just don’t try to cover it.
I love Louis Prima, but have just realised that I only have about two songs! Must try to rectify this at once.
Ed – I wouldn’t dare.
Claire – Good, right? Yes, sort it out.
I don’t think I’d ever heard any Louis Prima – although my mother sat bolt upright and screamed “That’s Louis Prima!” when I started playing it – but this really is superb. He sounds sort of breathy round the edges like a tenor saxophone.
Louis Prima changed the world.
Thanks Katy. Glad the Chairwoman is feeling better. Many regards mumwards there. Also – King Louis in the Jungle Book? You MUST have heard Louis Prima before. This is good, and he dances like me.
oh yeah. Just one of my favorite cartoon characters of all time.
Fantastic – and fun too – great cure for the blahs!
Oh. Yes. Okay. I have heard Louis Prima before, but I didn’t know it was him.
I am embarrassed. I am MUSICAL, dammit.
Ted – yes. A fine singer of the twelve bar blahs.
Katy – Didn’t mean to trump you with my musical trivia and snobbery.
Ed – Also mine. And Daredevil. But my favourite is Daffy Duck.
There’s a movie where cop Robert De Niro dances round a corpse to this song, can’t remember the name of it and I don’t think it was up to much but his character was good.
Mad Dog And Glory, Emom. He’s a lovely person.
Was Huston, Huston, Huston, Huston Angelica in that one?
I’ll just keep setting them up.
“He’s a lovely person”
And a very good actor
Leave a comment. Play nice. I will turn this blog around.