Las Vegas Weekly

July 23, 2010 · 10:44 AM

Louis Prima Jr., Lena Prima to accept father’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star

By Don Chareunsy

Louis Prima Jr.

Photo: Brian Brown

By Don Chareunsy, Vegas DeLuxe editor

Music and Las Vegas legend Louis Prima would’ve turned 100 this year, and to celebrate the anniversary, he will receive the 2,413th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. His son Louis Prima Jr. and daughter Lena, both Las Vegas residents, will be on had to accept the long-overdue honor.

Vegas DeLuxe spoke with Louis Prima Jr. ahead of this weekend’s ceremony.

Don Chareunsy: First of all, congratulations on your father’s well deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this coming Sunday, the 2,413th star. How do you and your family feel about it? How would your father feel?

Louis Prima Jr.: We are ecstatic that we finally got it done. We’ve spent 20 years working on it. It’s a tribute for everyone who loves his music and films, and it coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Hollywood Walk of Fame in an event called “Walk the Walk.” The star will be outside The Montalban Theater near Hollywood and Vine and Capitol Records, where Dad recorded many of his hits. We are all very excited. Father will be looking down smiling now.

DC: You’ve continued your father’s music legacy, which this year is the 100th anniversary. How are the two of you similar? Different?

LP: We’re frighteningly similar. He performed music for the people that’s been popular from the 1920s to today. It’s happy music, foot-tapping, music that makes you smile. It’s music for the people. I have his drive to perform onstage. The performances are not a sit-down dinner, so to speak. We jump around and have fun. We are very similar. He was a shy man, and I’m a little shy and reserved. He loved and believed in his family. I don’t think there are too many differences.

DC: What are some of the songs you’re performing with Sarah Spiegel and The Witnesses on Sunday? Will your sister be part of the performance?

LP: My sister Lena and I are accepting the star on behalf of our family. We will do a song or two together and of course the favorites -- “Just a Gigolo,” “Jump, Jive an’ Wail” and “Angelina,” songs my father was most famous for. We’ll do a procession through the crowd. It will be a quick set of the bigger hits after the ceremony.

DC: What are you working on now?

LP: We will be performing at the L.A. San Gennaro feast on Sept. 25. Working on recording an album -- I still call it the first album -- get some recording done. In October, we’re traveling to New Orleans, Mississippi, Florida, elsewhere on the East Coast, Atlantic City. Then we’ll be going on a European tour. Dad’s music was very popular over there even though his fear of flying kept him from performing in Europe because he never flew. That’s in November, and then we’ll be back home in time for the holidays.

Photo: Michael Alan

Louis Prima Jr. performs with Sarah Spiegel and The Witnesses at Dragonfly in Hollywood on Jan. 22, 2010.

DC: Your father’s music has been covered by the likes of David Lee Roth, Brian Setzer and Reba McEntire. What are some of your favorite covers?

LP: I truly love the David Lee Roth cover of “Just a Gigolo” because it is a note-for-note recording with the 1950s arrangement. David Lee Roth said he was heavily influenced by Louis Prima, so it is a tribute note for note. I love Reba McEntire’s “Sunday Kind of Love.” I can’t remember their name, but an English punk rock band did an obscure but fabulous arrangement of “Oh Marie.” (Ladyfuzz, per a quick Google search.)

DC: Speaking of music, who are some of your favorite performers in the current music scene? And all time?

LP: After high school, I played rock and roll music. AC/DC for their blues-driven music that is so accessible. They’re my favorite band of all time. I love Aerosmith, too. I’m still a rocker at heart. The Deftones write incredible songs. I branch off! I listen to Snoop Dogg. I listen to Lady Gaga because she’s a Louis Prima fan. I believe well-written music touches you no matter what genre.

Photo: Erik Kabik/Retna/www.erikkabikphoto.com

Louis Prima Jr. at the grand opening of the Hard Rock Cafe on the Las Vegas Strip.

DC: I believe that you performed most recently in Las Vegas at the Hard Rock Cafe on the Strip. When are you returning to Las Vegas?

LP: We’re working on it. There’s nothing scheduled yet. We’re working on a permanent home. You can keep up to date at LouisPrimaJr.com. I enjoy traveling, but it will be nice to be close to home.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

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