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Rating: 
Summary: An entertaining and informative read
Review: As a newcomer to the music of Louis Prima, I found this book informing and useful. Boulard's writing moves along at a fast pace; though I consider myself a neophyte in the world of jazz history, Just a Gigolo gave me all the essential information I needed to have a well grounded understanding of the man behind the music. I would recommend this book as a welcome addition to any music enthusiast.
Rating:
Summary: An entertaining and informative read
Review: As a newcomer to the music of Louis Prima, I found this book informing and useful. Boulard's writing moves along at a fast pace; though I consider myself a neophyte in the world of jazz history, Just a Gigolo gave me all the essential information I needed to have a well grounded understanding of the man behind the music. I would recommend this book as a welcome addition to any music enthusiast.
Rating: 
Summary: solid & unpretentious
Review: Look, it's a shame there's nothing from Butera but there's so much great insight from others who aren't as readily considered when a person thinks of Prima, you don't think of the omission as often as you'd think.Mostly I think this is a fantastic illustration of early century New Orleans and the journeys a lot of musicians took to become the staples we know today. Also, and this is even though most sources agree, I appreciate the stark treatment of Prima's love-life, and the way he treated the women in it.
Rating: 
Summary: A PRIMA PRIMER (OF SORTS)
Review: Louis Prima may well have been one of the most underrated entertainers of the 20th century, and his life story certainly warrants a biography. And this is a good beginning. This volume, part of the "Music in American Life" series published by the University of Illinois Press, explores the Prima phenomena, but author Boulard relies too heavily on secondary sources. (The Keely Smith interviews offer some insight.) Prima was a wild man, but the wild streak is so ... tame. The photos are rather appealing (especially the ones with Smith), but to publish this tome without an index is unforgivable.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK ON A GREAT TOPIC
Review: The ONLY biography of a legend--Louis Prima!
His life before and after his fantastic
years with Keely Smith.A must read for fans.
Rating:
Summary: good, solid information about an elusive entertainer
Review: This book is more a collection of other resources (interviews, newpaper articles, etc) than an in-depth look at the man "behind the music". If you are a Prima fan, and have any of his music now available on CD, (especially the Capitol Collector series) then you already know most of the infomation contained within this book. It details Prima's start in New Orleans, through his big band triumphs and failures, his partnership with Keely, and his attempts to regain his audience after their divorce, but contains little information from Louis himself (he MUST have conducted some interviews throughout his career, but very few direct quotes are used). The book takes about 4 hours to read, and may fill in some holes in Prima trivia, but it wasn't as fact filled as I had hoped.
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