Feature Story - The HC Cinema
Prize Winner -
2000.
Legendary
saxophonist Sam Butera Dies.
Family friends said Butera died
at about 6 a.m. June 3rd, 2009 --
at Sunrise Hospital, where he had
been since early January
suffering from the effects of
Alzheimer's Disease.
Butera, who retired in 2004,
would have been 82 in August.
Prima died at the age of 67 in
1978, three years after lapsing
into a coma during surgery to
remove a brain tumor.
About Sam Butera (from TVI
2005)
Sam Butera was born on August 17,
1927 in New Orleans, where his
father, Joe, ran Poor Boy's
Grocery & Meat Market.
His mother's name was Rose and he
had a brother, Joe, Jr. Sam
always loved music and at a young
age, was given a saxophone by his
father.
At the age of eighteen, in
a contest held at Carnegie Hall
in New York City, Sam was voted
the Outstanding Teenage Musician
in America by Look
Magazine.
Upon graduation, he went on the
road with Ray McKinley, with whom
he made his recording debut on
McKinley's versions of
"Civilization" and "Celery Stalks
At Midnight". After stints
with various bands including
Tommy Dorsey, Joe Richman, and Al
Hirt, Sam returned home.
Once home, Sam played at Leon
Prima's 500 Club, where he and
his five-piece band backed bad
comics and strippers.
In his spare time, Sam jammed
with the band of one of his
father's customers, Paul Gayten,
who had one of the top bands in
the city. In 1951 a
recording was made of Sam with
Paul for Regal records.
Eventually, Sam formed his own
group and produced such hits as
"Easy Rockin'" and "Chicken
Scratch" for RCA Victor.
When Louis Prima was looking for
his Vegas band, his brother
reminded him of Sam. In 1954 Sam
joined Louis Prima and Keely
Smith in Las Vegas, and the rest
is musical history.
Together they recorded
several albums, appeared on many
T.V. shows, starred in several
movies and broke attendance
records in every showroom and
lounge in the country.
Sam recorded for Cadence under
his own name and, after the
Capitol signing, for subsidiary
label Prep as Sam Butera &
The Witnesses. The group was also
given billing on all Prima
recordings.
Sam appeared with Frank Sinatra
across America from Caesars
Palace in Las Vegas to the Latin
Casino in Philadelphia. The two
recorded the song "Stargazer",
which was written by Neil Diamond
and was released through Reprise
Records.
Sam has also appeared with Danny
Thomas, Jerry Vale, Sergio
Franchi, Jimmy Roselli, and Sammy
Davis, Jr. with whom he recorded
an album "Sam Meets Sam, When The
Feeling Hits You".
On April 3, 1998 the Augustus
Society gave Sam the "Life Time
Achievement" and the "Entertainer
of the Year" awards. In
1999 the Tropicana Casino and
Hotel inducted Sam Butera into
the "Las Vegas Hall of Fame".
On June 1st , 2000 the Harrison
Carroll Cinema Prize Award gave
Sam the coveted "Life Time
Achievement" Media award for his
"They Said It on Stage, TV-radio
& and vMusic."
Sam Butera Band Members -
1980
Phil DiRe, trumpet, tenor
and alto saxes and baritone
saxaphonist; Buck Menari, trumpet
& formely lead horn with
Elvis Presley; Arnie Tech,
pianist; Jim James (Jimbo),
trumpeter and trombonist; Bob
Sachs, bassist; Chuck Stevens,
drummer (brother of Connie
Stevens)
Sam Butera Band Members - 1980 /
Phil DiRe, trumpet, tenor and
alto saxes and baritone
saxaphonist; Buck Menari, trumpet
& formely lead horn with
Elvis Presley; Arnie Tech,
pianist; Jim James (Jimbo),
trumpeter and trombonist; Bob
Sachs, bassist; Chuck Stevens,
drummer (brother of Connie
Stevens)
Sam Butera is renowned as one of
the most impeccable players of
the tenor sax of this or any
other musical era. Sam,
with his distinctive sax playing
and his powerful "pointed"
vocals, has thrilled millions via
performances from Las Vegas'
major showrooms to the famed
Copacabana in New York
City. If you own any of his
recordings, or have seen his
television, and motion picture
appearances, this segment of the
"R&B Plus" TV series,
Directed by Troy Cory - 1980, is
a must to see . . . "Sam is at
his best," says Josie Cory, of
TVI Magazine, and
continues "those were fabulous
summer days just being around
these great musicians and
Sam.
The music of Prima and Butera,
with "I'm Just a Gigolo," and "Up
the Lazy River," resurfaced with
the help of David Lee Roth, and
Van Halen who was at the Rosemont
Studios in Pasadena when Butera's
songs were being performed.
The music of Prima and Butera,
with I'm Just a Gigalo, and Up
the Lazy River, resurfaced with
the help of David Lee Roth, and
the Van Halen organization who
was at the Rosemont Studios when
the songs were being performed.
From time to time, played in film
sound tracks an commercials. A
Gap commerical in the '90s,
featuring "Jump, Jive and Wail"
gave Butera's career a boost.
"Louis Prima's true ace in the
hole for 21 years was Sam
Butera," Prima's widow, Gia
Maione, said during a telephone
call from her home in Florida. "I
don't care what vocalists were
with Louis, his true ace in the
hole was Sam Butera. Side by
side, Louis and Sam kicked Las
Vegas' butt for 21 years."
Maione joined Prima's group after
Prima and vocalist Keely Smith
divorced in 1961.
"I really do not believe over all
of these years that Sam Butera
got the accolades he deserved as
a tenor saxophone player,"
Maione, 67, said. "I defy anyone
to name someone that played
better tenor sax that Sam
Butera.
By Jerry
Fink Las Vegas Sun Another link to Las Vegas'
storied past was cut Wednesday
morning with the passing of legendary jazz saxophonist
Sam Butera, sideman to another
Vegas legend, Louis
Prima.
Family friends said Butera died
at about 6 a.m. at Sunrise
Hospital, where he had been since
early January suffering from the
effects of Alzheimer's
Disease.
Butera, who retired in 2004,
would have been 82 in August.
Prima died at the age of 67 in
1978, three years after lapsing
into a coma during surgery to
remove a brain tumor.
The music of Prima and Butera
resurfaces from time to time,
played in film sound tracks an
commercials. A Gap commerical in
the '90s, featuring "Jump, Jive
and Wail" gave Butera's career a
boost.
"Louis Prima's true ace in the
hole for 21 years was Sam
Butera," Prima's widow, Gia
Maione, said during a telephone
call from her home in Florida. "I
don't care what vocalists were
with Louis, his true ace in the
hole was Sam Butera. Side by
side, Louis and Sam kicked Las
Vegas' butt for 21 years."
Maione joined Prima's group after
Prima and vocalist Keely Smith
divorced in 1961.
"I really do not believe over all
of these years that Sam Butera
got the accolades he deserved as
a tenor saxophone player,"
Maione, 67, said. "I defy anyone
to name someone that played
better tenor sax that Sam
Butera. "From
the day I got the job with Louis,
before every show every
night, emanating from the
dressing room you would hear Sam
running his scales, running his
fingering, making sure his
mouthpiece and reed were perfect.
He was a technician beyond belief
with that instrument, let alone
the showman that he was. And you
put those two side by side, Prima
and Butera, that was it."
She says her husband didn't get
the credit he deserved,
either.
"Both of them were such great
showmen and they had so much fun
that people overlooked the skill
because they were having too much
fun," she said.
Maione remained close to Butera
and his family after Prima died
in a hospital in New Orleans, the
home town of both Prima and
Butera.
"It's a very, very sad day," she
said. "We were very close through
the years. I was in very close
communications with Sam,
especially since he retired. I've
been in touch with his wife,
Vera, weekly since he became ill.
He was in the hospital from Jan.
3 until now. He was in the grips
of Alzheimer's. He lapsed into a
coma, and then he was gone."
Sam and Vera Butera were married
62 years.
"They were high school
sweethearts," Mainoe said.
The couple had four children.
Maione said four or five days ago
Mrs. Butera was injured while
going to the hospital to see her
husband.
"She was walking through the
parking lot at hospital and got
hit by a truck," Maione said.
"Miraculously, nothing was broken
but she has an injury to her
back. She's at home now but isn't
speaking to anyone because of the
severe pain form her back. The
family doesn't know when the
funeral arrangements will be
made. They don't know when their
mother will be able to attend the
funeral."
Butera was born on Aug. 17, 1927.
His father owned a butcher shop
and played guitar and the
concertina in his spare time.
Butera studied clarinet in school
but eventually turned to the
saxophone. At the age of 18 was
featured in Look magazine as one
of the top young jazzmen in the
country.
Butera was also an excellent
athlete. He received a track
scholarship and a music
scholarship to Notre Dame, but a
leg injury ended his track career
and he decided to pursue music
instead of going to college.
He quickly began performing
around the country with the top
bands of the day, including Tommy
Dorsey and Joe Reichman. His said
his major influences in those
years were Charlie Ventura,
Lester Young, Gene Ammons,
Charlie Parker and Big Jay
McNeely.
Butera formed his own group after
returning to New Orleans and
began a four-year engagement at
the 500 Club.
Ron
Cannatella, official archivist
for Prima Music LLC in New
Orleans, had a personal
relationship with Butera.
"Both of my grandfathers knew
Sam," Cannatella said.
He said Prima's brother, Leon,
saw Butera performing at the
Perez' Oasis club and told Louis
about him. Prima liked what he
saw and in 1954 when he and Keely
Smith were booked at the Sahara
in Las Vegas he asked Butera to
join them.
"He wanted Sam to start on
Christmas Eve, 1954, but Sam told
Louis he needed to spend
Christmas with his family, which
he did," Cannatella said. "The
Day after Christmas, on Dec. 26,
1954, Sam joined Louis in Las
Vegas and was his sidekick and
sideman until 1975, when Louis
was operated on for the brain
tumor."
Together Prima and Butera
appeared on every major
television show in the '60s and
'70s, including Johnny Carson,
Dinah Shore, Dean Martin, Danny
Thomas, Bob Hope and Mike
Douglas.
"Their last appearance together
on television was 'The Merv
Griffin Show' in 1975,"
Cannatella said.
They made many albums together,
including "The Wildest" and "The
Call of the Wildest" (both in
1957), but Butera also made
albums on his own, including "The
Rat Race" (in 1960), which was a
soundtrack from a film Butera
appeared in with Tony Curtis.
They recorded albums for Capital,
Dot and Buena Vista record
labels, Cannatella said.
They appeared in movies together
("Hey Boy, Hey Girl" and "Twist
All Night").
"Sam also worked with Louis on
the film 'Jungle Book' for
Disney," Cannatella said.
Butera was not selfish with his
music.
"Back when Allen Toussaint
composed the song 'Java,' Allen
had initially given the song to
Sam but Sam felt that Al Hirt
should be the one to record it
and Sam gave it to Al and it
became a big hit."
After Louis became incapacitated,
Butera's career continued to
flourish until the early 2000s
when work in Las Vegas began to
slow down and he had to spend a
lot of time on the road.
He made his last appearance in
New Orleans in 2003 when he was
inducted into the Hall of Fame
there.
Cannatella visited with Butera in
2005, after Hurricane Katrina
devastated his home town.
"He was saddened to find out so
many of the clubs and places he
had played were no longer there,"
Cannatella said. "Sam was a
wonderful guy, a family oriented
man."
He called Butera's passing, "A
great loss to his family and to
the musical world, because Sam
was one of the greatest saxophone
players of all time."
Louis Prima Jr. knew Butera well
because of his father, but had no
personal relationship with
him.
"I've known him most of my life,"
said Prima, who has his own band
and is trying to keep his
father's music alive, though it
is difficult in these economic
times. "Unchallenged, without a
doubt Sam Butera was the most
talented, greatest sax player
there ever was and probably will
be.
"He was an incredible musician
who never missed a beat."
Prima's sister Lena has performed
a tribute show to her father for
many years.
She says she and Butera never
performed together, but once
placed opposite each other at
Palace Station lounges.
"There wasn't anybody like him,"
Lena Prima said. "He had that New
Orleans style and sound that a
lot of sax players who came out
of New Orleans had. But he was
special, one of a kind. In
combination with my father, they
were amazing. He was very
talented. I loved his singing
too. He had a really unique
singing voice." Las Vegas
Sun
Part
02h
TIMELINE-Sam Butera,
1950s-'60s tenor
saxophonist
1927 -
Sam
Butera was born Aug. 17, 1927, in
New Orleans, where his father
owned a meat market and played
guitar and concertina in his
spare time. Butera later recalled
that when he was 7, his father
took him to see a big band and
asked which of the instruments
the boy liked best.
"The saxophones were closest, so
I pointed to the saxophones,"
Butera told the New Orleans
Times-Picayune. "The next day, I
had a horn."
He married his childhood
sweetheart, Vera with whom he had
four children. They were married
62 years.
1945 -
At the
age of 18, Sam Butera was
featured in Look magazine as one
of the top young jazzmen in the
country.
1954 -
Butera
was enjoying a long engagement at
the New Orleans club Perez' Oasis
owned by Prima's brother, Leon
who saw Butera performing and
told Louis, about him. Prima
liked what he saw and in 1954
when he and Keely Smith were
booked at the Sahara in Las Vegas
he asked Butera to join them.
Prima,
nearly 20 years older than
Butera, was a composer ("Sing,
Sing, Sing"), trumpeter, singer
and irrepressible stage
performer, a combination of Louis
Armstrong and Jerry Lewis. His
career was on the wane when he
teamed in 1954 with Butera, who a
few years earlier had been named
the country's outstanding teenage
jazz musician by Look magazine.
Both men were New Orleans natives
of Italian heritage.
1957-
Together
they made many albums, including
"The Wildest" and "The Call of
the Wildest." They recorded for
Capital, Dot and Buena Vista
record labels.
They appeared in movies together
("Hey Boy, Hey Girl" and "Twist
All Night"). Sam also worked with
Louis on the film "Jungle Book'
for Disney."
1950s -
Prima
was married (1953) to Keely
Smith, a smoky-voiced balladeer
with a pageboy haircut, until
their rancorous divorce in the
early 1960s. Prima's fifth wife,
Gia Maione, later joined the act
as singer.
Backed by a small band called the
Witnesses, the Prima-Smith-Butera
partnership re-created jazz and
pop standards in a dazzlingly
inventive array of styles and
tempos: swing jazz, "shuffling"
upbeat jump blues, Italian
tarantellas and Dixieland. Some
of their best-known titles
included "Just a Gigolo"/"I Ain't
Got Nobody" (done as a medley),
"Pennies From Heaven," "That Old
Black Magic" (which won a Grammy
Award), "Jump, Jive an' Wail" and
"When You're Smiling."
Mostly, Butera took a supporting
role to the headliner Prima but
was at times allowed to shine in
a singing role
1960s -
Prima
and Butera together appeared on
every major television show in
the '60s and '70s, including
Johnny Carson, Dinah Shore, Dean
Martin, Danny Thomas, Bob Hope
and Mike Douglas.
"Their last appearance together
on television was 'The Merv
Griffin Show' in 1975."
1960 -
Butera
puts out album"The Rat Race,"
under his own name. "The Rat
Race" was a soundtrack from a
film Butera appeared in with Tony
Curtis
1961 -
Gia
Maione joins Prima's group after
Prima and vocalist Keely Smith
divorced in 1961.
"From the day I got the job with
Louis, before every show every
night, emanating from the
dressing room you would hear Sam
running his scales, running his
fingering, making sure his
mouthpiece and reed were perfect.
He was a technician beyond belief
with that instrument, let alone
the showman that he was. And you
put those two side by side, Prima
and Butera, that was it."
1965 -
Records the acclaimed album "When
the Feeling Hits You!"
1975 -
Louis
Prima and Sam Butera's last
appearance together on television
was 'The Merv Griffin Show.
1975 -
Prima
had complications from surgery
for a benign brain tumor and was
in a coma until his death in
1978.
Afterward, Butera performed with
a band he called the Wildest. He
lived to see his music influence
a later generation of musicians
as varied as David Lee Roth, who
had a hit with "Just a Gigolo"/"I
Ain't Got Nobody," and Brian
Setzer, who won a Grammy for his
cover of "Jump, Jive an'
Wail."
1978 -
Maione
remained close to Butera and his
family after Prima died in 1978
in a hospital in New Orleans, the
home town of both Prima and
Butera. "Louis Prima's true ace
in the hole for 21 years was Sam
Butera," Prima's widow, Gia
Maione, said. "I don't care what
vocalists were with Louis, his
true ace in the hole was Sam
Butera. Side by side, Louis and
Sam kicked Las Vegas' butt for 21
years."
1980 - July -
Sam performs the right fix for
the Troy Cory Show. (Click to
view video) Sam Butera and his band jazz
it up at the Cory Estate in
Pasadena, with ol'time favorites
like, "Ol' man Mo," "That Old
Balck Magic," "Just a
Gigolo"/"I
Ain't Got Nobody," and
more, during the taping of "The
Best of Sam Butera," directed by
Troy Cory.
The right
fix set in for both Sam, and Troy
Cory. Sam Butera performed
the best of Butera including, "Up
The Lazy River with his Players
-- Sam Butera & the Wildest.
Click
For YouTube - Troy Cory Show
5100-00 Sam Butera "Up The Lazy
River" TCS187
1980 -
Sam
Butera Band Members - 1980
Phil DiRe, trumpet, tenor
and alto saxes and baritone
saxaphonist; Buck Menari, trumpet
& formely lead horn with
Elvis Presley; Arnie Tech,
pianist; Jim James (Jimbo),
trumpeter and trombonist; Bob
Sachs, bassist; and Chuck
Stevens, drummer (brother of
Connie Stevens)
Sam Butera is renowned as one of
the most impeccable players of
the tenor sax of this or any
other musical era. Sam, with
his distinctive sax playing and
his powerful "pointed" vocals,
has thrilled millions via
performances from Las Vegas'
major showrooms to the famed
Copacabana in New York
City.
If you own any of his recordings,
or have seen his television, and
motion picture appearances, this
segment of the "R&B Plus" TV
series, Directed by Troy Cory -
1980, is a must to see . . . "Sam
is at his best," says Josie Cory,
of TVI Magazine, and
continues "those were fabulous
summer days just being around
these great musicians and
Sam.
The music of Prima and Butera,
with "I'm Just a Gigolo," and "Up
the Lazy River," resurfaced with
the help of David Lee Roth, and
Van Halen who was at the Rosemont
Studios in Pasadena when Butera's
songs were being performed.
1990s -
From time
to time, Sam played in film sound
tracks and commercials. A Gap
commerical in the '90s, featuring
"Jump, Jive and Wail" gave
Butera's career a boost.
1996 -
Puts out album under his name,
"The Whole
World Loves Italians."
1998 -
On April
3, 1998 the Augustus Society gave
Sam the "Life Time Achievement"
and the "Entertainer of the Year"
awards.
1999 -
The
Tropicana Casino and Hotel
inducted Sam Butera into the "Las
Vegas Hall of Fame."
2000 -
Butera's
career continued to flourish
until the early 2000s when work
in Las Vegas began to slow down
and he had to spend a lot of time
on the road.
2000 -
On June
1st, 2000 the Harrison Carroll
Cinema Prize Award gave Sam the
coveted "Life Time Achievement"
Media award for his "They Said It
on Stage, TV-radio & and
vMusic."
2003 -
Sam Butera
made his last appearance in New
Orleans, in 2003 when he was
inducted into the Hall of Fame
there.
2009 -
LA Time
reported on June 5, 2009 that,
"Sam Butera, a hard-swinging
tenor saxophonist who formed a
rowdy and successful onstage
partnership with entertainers
Louis Prima and Keely Smith in
the 1950s, died Wednesday at a
hospital in Las Vegas. He was 81.
The Las Vegas Sun reported on
June 5, 2009 that, Butera had
Alzheimer's disease.
He is survived by his wife of 62
years, Vera and their four
children.
We
Preserve The Moment Yes90
tviNews S90 Profiles4
PEOPLE
SECTION-
Sam Butera dies at 81; 1950s-'60s
tenor saxophonist.
Sam
Butera, former Louis Prima
saxophonist, dies
Sam
Butera The
Right Fix For Louis
Prima
- Keely
Smith Photos: Troy Cory,
ePublisher TVI, Author and
Entertainer; Josie Cory,
Publisher/Editor, TVI Magazine;
Missy
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