Even 47 years after his death, jazz entertainer, songwriter, and Grammy Award winner Louis Prima remains a legend. Born in New Orleans to immigrants from Salaparuta, Sicily, and the island of Ustica (north of Palermo), he proudly embraced his Italian roots. Something remarkable in the 1940s, when Italian Americans faced hostility as Italy and the United States were at war, and 600,000 Italian immigrants were branded "enemy aliens."
Against the odds, he transformed Italian folk melodies into unforgettable hits, composed jazz standards, brought a beloved Disney Jungle Book character to life, and inspired Americans of every background to swing, sing, and celebrate the joy of music.
His youngest daughter, Lena Prima, remembers his later years, the times he brought her onstage with her mother, Gia Maione, and the quieter moments when they sat together in the living room. One memorable night, he sang "Pennies from Heaven" to accompany her treasured piggy bank that played the same tune.
"I really idolized my dad," she says. "I thought he was just magical and amazing. And the band and the excitement of the show, and just going to different places… as a kid, it was exciting, glamorous, and cool. It was just a magical life."
All of that changed in 1975, when Louis underwent surgery to remove a benign brain stem tumor. Afterward, he fell into a coma. Lena was 11 when it happened; her father remained in a vegetative state for three years before passing away on August 24, 1978.
"It was very traumatizing," she reflects. "It made me feel like I dreamed that life that was so magical."
Lena left home early to forge her own path as a rock singer, despite her mother's objections. During that period, she balanced multiple day jobs, ultimately forming a band called Rough Angel and recording an album with Geoff Workman, producer for Queen, Journey, The Cars, and numerous other rock icons. But the music scene dramatically changed in the 1990s, and Lena shifted to the lounge circuit.
She performed as a vocalist with various bands, including Spiral Starecase (known for their 1969 single, "More Today Than Yesterday"). It was during a performance with that group that she made a career-changing decision: to put on a show in honor of her father. That tribute quickly took on a life of its own, leading to her move to New Orleans in 201, a 14-year residency at the world-famous Carousel Bar & Lounge at the Hotel Monteleone, and to her 2019 top-10 Billboard Jazz Album, Prima La Famiglia.
Lena carries not only her father's legacy but also her own hard-earned artistic identity. During our conversation, she reflected on the places and people that shaped her, the grief that changed her, and the music that ultimately led her home.
YOU GREW UP BETWEEN LAS VEGAS AND NEW ORLEANS. HOW DID THAT EXPERIENCE SHAPE YOU?
I was born in Vegas, and my dad kept a place in Louisiana. I was in the fifth or sixth grade when we lived in New Orleans, and then eighth, ninth, and tenth grade across the lake in Covington on Highway 190. He had a golf course there and a home.
I started high school there at Covington High, and then after my dad passed away, we moved back to Vegas. I finished high school in Las Vegas and stayed living there off and on.
It was a great experience because it allowed me to just up and say goodbye to friends and school and start over somewhere else. It teaches you to have that kind of lifestyle, where you're always excited to go places, meet people, and travel.
I like that I had that experience. It makes me not afraid to get up and go, and I have done that. Just selling everything and moving to New Orleans, and also seeing different places, different cities, different cultures, and different accents of people. I have been grateful for having that experience as a kid.
YOUR PARENTS WERE IN SHOW BUSINESS. HOW DID THEY SHARE THAT EXPERIENCE WITH YOU?
My dad always brought me on stage. My first singing experience, which has stayed with me, was at 5 years old at The Sands in Las Vegas. And I remember being embarrassed because it wasn't Christmas, and the only song I knew was "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." So I sang that, but I will never forget the spotlight in my eyes and the people all smiling at me. I remember what I was wearing, and then someone sent me photographs from that night many years later. And sure enough, I was wearing what I remembered wearing. So it's amazing how that particular moment just went, "Bam!" for me.
YOU WERE VERY YOUNG WHEN YOUR FATHER DEVELOPED A BRAIN TUMOR. CAN YOU SHARE THAT EXPERIENCE?
It was scary, and I was confused. I hid around corners and under the stairs, so I could watch him when no one was around. My dad would cry a lot, and I didn't know why he was so sad. I just didn't really understand the whole thing; I just knew he was sick.
I remember the day he left, and I sat cross-legged by the window for hours. I just didn't move after he left.
Then it was just very traumatic. He was in a coma, and he wouldn't wake up, and I didn't understand it, and I was afraid of it. And it was just sad.
The only thing I knew to do as a kid was pray, go to church, and light candles. Every night, I would do the rosary beads and just think, "God will make him well, and he'll wake up and come back home." I didn't really understand all that.
When he passed, I felt like it was my fault that I didn't say enough rosary beads or that I didn't pray enough. Kids take that kind of stuff on. They think anything traumatic in the family is their fault. So I did feel that feeling like I should have done something more.
It was very traumatizing and just made me feel like I had dreamed that life.
HOW DID THAT CHANGE YOU?
I went through a period when I started working as a professional rock singer. My mom was not supportive; I had basically been forbidden from being a singer or in show business. So I kind of felt like I was doing something I wasn't supposed to.
I didn't want anyone to know my name, so I was in bands just as a side singer. I never really went out on my own using my name.
I kind of pushed the pain of everything that happened to the side.
I've worked really hard on myself with therapy and self-work. I just feel like this is a journey, and I try to be the best version of myself I can be and heal from everything.
Lena Prima with her Rough Angel bandmates
TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR ROCK MUSIC EXPERIENCE AND WHAT IT TAUGHT YOU.
It was a great experience, because when you're working in rock clubs, you have to have a big, big personality and voice to get over the crowd and get everybody's attention. Also, I trained really hard to develop that voice, which strengthened it a lot. And having to be prepared in any situation in the rock clubs really helped me be better on stage. That was a great lesson.
There was also the feeling of being part of a team, because in the bands I was in, we were all kind of a family. We wrote songs together, collaborated, created music, and rehearsed constantly.
There was a work ethic, especially in my original band. We rehearsed every single day, and we did an album project with Geoff Workman. It didn't turn into anything because the band broke up, but it was a great experience working with a real platinum-album producer who had produced all my heroes: Journey, the Cars, Foreigner, and Queen.
I learned a lot about being in the studio, and I love to record because of that. I have had many great experiences that have carried me through. I like having a band that feels like a team and a family, where we're all in it together, we're up there to have fun, and we all enjoy each other and what music we're making. People enjoy it when you're enjoying it.
Lena Prima in 1991
WHAT DID YOU DO AFTER THE BAND BROKE UP?
I went from the rock bands to the lounge circuit, so there was no break. What was great about that was when I was playing rock, I had to work day jobs to make a living—no money in that. We would just split whatever we earned. At one point, I was working three jobs at one time and singing at night. It was a lot.
My good friend from high school was working in the lounges, and she said, "You should do it." And I just didn't want to; I thought, "Cover songs and Top 40? I'm not that person," but she talked me into it because it was a way for me to make a living, singing, without having to work day jobs. And it was good money. I went right from rock to that, and I worked on it until 2000, when I put the tribute to my dad together.
Lena recreates an iconic photo of her father at Hotel Monteleone, where she's performed a residency for 14 years.
TELL US ABOUT THAT TRIBUTE SHOW AND WHAT IT TAUGHT YOU.
I worked with an arranger and wrote the show with the songs, stories, and video. It was tough to get that going, but it was a great experience because I got to see who my dad was through the audience. They would line up to tell me stories about my dad, and grown men would cry, telling me what a wonderful man he was. I learned a lot about my dad and who he was, and it was great for me because the guy I thought he was as a kid was really that guy. So it was just a super joyful experience, and I also learned about the Sicilians in New Orleans and all the history and culture.
I was able to connect with those vibes, and I got more than I could ever have expected or thought. So I learned more about it and embraced it more as I went on that journey of doing a daughter's loving tribute to her dad, doing the music and singing the songs, and then moving to New Orleans and actually experiencing how the musicians play here and how it's different. And I kind of thought, "Oh my God, this is where that sound came from for my dad! This is where those rhythms came from, those horn players, and just the way that the music is here."
It really pulled it all together for me.
HAS THERE BEEN A MOMENT OR EXPERIENCE THAT MADE YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR FATHER WAS RIGHT THERE WITH YOU?
When I made Prima La Famiglia with my good friend John Viola, I mentioned that I wanted to make a big-band album and feature all those Italian songs my dad had heard growing up, along with their stories. There was one particular song that made me feel really, really close to him, and it's called "Pensate, Amore" on the album.
The reason that's on there is that, as a small child, I had been watching The Man Called Flintstone. It was a Flintstones full-length feature in which the Flintstones and their friends are going to Europe. They went to Italy, and there was a scene where Fred's in a tower singing to Wilma, and the singer was my dad.
I remember screaming, "Mommy, Daddy's on The Flintstones!" And she wasn't aware that he had done that.
WHAT WOULD YOU WANT YOUR DAD TO SEE IN HOW YOU'VE CARRIED HIS LEGACY FORWARD?
I feel like he would be really proud, honestly. I always hoped he would be, but I now feel really confident about it. He'd be proud of the band I put together and the way that I learned how to get out of myself when I'm on stage.
Over the years, I'd been in my head, trying to be perfect —trying to sing perfectly, say the perfect things, and make sure my show had the perfect songs in the perfect order—everything planned.
It's become more, "Get out of your head! Just go with how you feel that people feel in the audience."
That's what he did. Of course, I want to be good and have excellent arrangements and excellent quality music. I'd learned that from my dad. But now I'm also trying to help people have a great time just like he did.
He'd be proud of that part. And when I sit out, and my band does the first set, I listen and think, "Oh, my dad would love that band."
I think he'd be proud of what I've put together, my journey, and how far I've come to where I am now.
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