Prima's "Old Black Magic" lip synched by Sam and Friend
Louis Prima was a jazz bandleader, singer, and trumpeter known for his lively, primarily swing music. He reached peak popularity as a recording artist and personality in the fifties and sixties, lending his voice to King Louie in the 1967 Disney animated feature The Jungle Book.
References[]
- Prima and then-wife Keely Smith's duet of "That Old Black Magic," released as a popular single in 1958, was used on Sam and Friends, with Sam lip-synching and dancing wildly to Prima while Kermit took Smith's part.
- Elmo's daddy Louie not only shares a name with Prima, but as performed by Bill Barretta, his voice was patterned after him.[1][2]
- Barretta drew inspiration from Prima once again in The Muppets Mayhem episode "Fortunate Son," citing that young Dr. Teeth's habit of peeking in the windows of nightclubs was based on Prima doing the same.[3]