Sam Butera was born into an Italian family in New Orleans in 1927. At the age of 18, he was cited as a promising teenage musician in Look magazine, which led to an appearance at Carnegie Hall. Butera is most known for his work with Louis Prima and their band The Witnesses. Butera was an inventive musician, writing new arrangements for Prima's existing material as well as adding material. He enjoyed putting unlikely songs together such as the famed combination of "Just A Gigolo" and "I Ain't Got Nobody". Prima liked to give standards a swing and clown around with the lyrics, often adding Italian scat. Most Prima records include a sax break from Butera.

(Spencer Leigh)