Echoes of Rhythm and Legacy: Louis Prima Plays on in Cleveland's Little Italy

To launch the exhibition, the Italian American Museum of Cleveland (IAMCLE) hosted world-renowned trumpet player and Juilliard alumnus Dominick Farinacci (center) on July 17 in Cleveland’s Little Italy. Farinacci, joined by “The Voice” contestant and Cleveland native Hayden Grove, performed Prima’s greatest hits to a sell-out crowd.

Jazzman, songwriter, entertainer, pop culture icon, symbol of Italian American pride. Louis Prima was one of the most popular artists of his generation, whose music influenced artists ranging from Elvis Presley and Stevie Wonder to David Lee Roth, Los Lobos, and Michael Bublè, yet he is also among the most forgotten stars of American popular music.

Prima referred to his customized King horn as his “dress trumpet” and played it exclusively for special events and TV appearances. This trumpet was his personal favorite during the 1960s and ’70s.

Forty-five years after his death, Prima’s music is heard in films, commercials, and viral TikTok videos. Artists continue to cover his work, and he even inspires fashion and dance styles. Yet, the name Louis Prima is unknown to most. How can we explain this disconnect, this simultaneous remembrance and amnesia?

Louis Prima: A Life in Rhythm and Music, a new exhibition at the Italian American Museum of Cleveland (IAMCLE), explores these questions and Prima’s vast yet often unrecognized contributions to the music world.

Prima was one of the highest paid entertainers of his time — a Grammy Award–winning hitmaker. He wrote popular music anthems, including “Sing, Sing, Sing,” the song that came to epitomize the Swing era, and “Jump, Jive, an’ Wail,” among others.

***Louis Prima: A Life in Rhythm and Music will run at the Italian American Museum of Cleveland (IAMCLE) until Jan. 3, 2026.***

Prima, born in 1910, grew up during the early days of jazz in the city that gave birth to the genre: New Orleans, Louisiana. His music seamlessly spanned jazz and swing, early R&B, rock, boogie-woogie, novelty, and Italian folk.

Prima would also play an integral role in shaping two of the nation’s entertainment capitals. He helped make 52nd Street in New York City a mecca of jazz and, along with partner Keely Smith, Prima transformed Las Vegas from a town best known for its gamblers and dregs to a glamorous center of nightlife and entertainment. Their popularity, style, and visionary mix of jazz, swing, pop, and rock ’n’ roll was the genesis of the “hip” Vegas mystique that lives on to this day.

***ISDA National President Basil Russo and his wife Patricia Gallupoli Russo attend the exhibition’s launch at IAMCLE on July 17.***

During the first half of the twentieth century — an age of conformity and assimilation when being Italian American was frowned upon and even despised — Prima remained unapologetically attached to his heritage. This was the same era that Dino Crocetti and Anna Marie Italiano became Dean Martin and Anne Bancroft, respectively, yet Prima kept his telltale vowels. He was Louis Prima, not Lou Prime (as was suggested). He wrote songs in Italian, peppered his speech with cultural references, and openly embraced his heritage. By doing so, he helped pave the paths for other performers, including Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Perry Como, and Dean Martin.

***Encouraged by his mother, Louis Prima began studying the violin at the age of 7.***

Special thanks to Marianna Gatto, executive director of the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles (IAMLA) — and to the Gia Maione Prima Foundation and IAMCLE Director Pamela Dorazio Dean — for ushering this exhibition into Cleveland.

IAMCLE will feature Louis Prima: A Life in Rhythm and Music until January 2026.