Gia Maione Prima (May 20, 1941 – September 23, 2013) was an American singer and the fifth wife of musician/entertainer Louis Prima.
Born in the Roebling section of Florence Township, New Jersey, Maione lived in Bordentown before moving with her family to Toms River, New Jersey. From the early age of 3, her sole interest was music. At age 4 began 17 years of piano and extensive vocal training under Alma Steedman, Choir Director at Westminster Choir College at Princeton University. Upon graduation in June 1959 from Toms River High School (now known as Toms River High School South) in New Jersey, she received the National Arion Society Award in Music. With intent to attend Julliard School of Music in New York City, Gia worked at the local Howard Johnsons Restaurant, to begin saving money for the tuition and to continue her vocal and piano instruction.
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| Louis & Gia Maione Prima with Frank Sinatra |
In late 1961 it came to Gia's attention that Louis Prima was conducting a nationwide search for a new vocalist. His tour brought him to the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, where Gia auditioned on Mother's Day 1962 and Louis immediately selected her. Prima had divorced Keely Smith, his former lead vocalist, the year before. Smith left the orchestra, creating the opening that Maione filled. Gia began touring with Prima's ensemble The Witnesses and in 1963 married him at Lake Tahoe and released her debut album entitled "This Is ...Gia" which earned her praise for her performances of such standards as "Moonglow", "My Funny Valentine", and "Unforgettable". She had two children with Prima, a daughter named Lena and a son named Louis Prima Jr.
The next 12 years were a whirlwind of live regular performances, TV shows and recordings. Las Vegas: Sahara Hotel, Sands Hotel, Tropicana Hotel; New York: Copacabana, Basin Street East, Ben Maksiks Town and Country; Philadelphia: Palumbo's; Chicago: Palmer House. TV Shows: Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, Dean Martin, Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin, Steve Lawrence, Art Linkletter. Gia worked closely with Louis in creating the Prima Magnagroove record label for which she and Louis recorded many classic albums and singles from 1963 through 1975 which included 14 albums and numerous singles for Capitol Records, Disney Records, DeLite Label, Brunswick Records and Prima label. The couple performed and recorded together until Prima fell ill in 1975.
Although paired with Prima near the end of his career, Prima, Maione and the orchestra remained extremely popular and sang to sold-out crowds up to 1975. In 1975, while undergoing an operation in Los Angeles to remove a benign brain tumor, Prima lapsed into a coma and never regained consciousness. He died almost three years later on August 24, 1978, in his hometown of New Orleans.
The Prima estate was tied up in litigation for almost 15 years following Prima's death. He left Maione Gia in debt, to the point where she was forced to sell off assets to appease his ex-wives and biological children. Maione was so impoverished, with millions in debt to the medical institutions, that she was sewing Lena and Louis Jr.'s clothing. In 1994, Maione assumed control of the Prima archives, at which time she set about managing his vast musical legacy.
She dedicated herself to remastering and re-releasing Prima's work. Among her other duties, Maione handled the licensing of Prima's work for television, film and advertising, such as the use of 'Jump, Jive and Wail' for a series of Gap ads in the late 1990s. While living in Island Heights, New Jersey in 2002, she filed suit against Unidisc Music claiming that proper royalties had not been paid. Owing to this, Gia forbid Disney Studios to reuse Prima's character King Louie in The Jungle Book 2.
Professionally, Gia volunteered for many benefit charities and telethons and sponsored many golf tournaments to benefit charities. She was inducted in the Toms River Regional Schools Hall of Fame in 2004. She created the Louis Prima ASCAP Foundation Award and operated Prima Music, LLC, which released previously unavailable Prima titles. The company also operated www.louisprima.com and LGL Music Publishing Co.
In 2011, Gia Prima with the assistance of long-time friend and counsel, Anthony J. Sylvester of Sherman Atlas Sylvester & Stamelman, LLP established the Gia Maione Prima Foundation, Inc. for the purpose of making donations to other tax-exempt organizations that support and encourage an appreciation for American Jazz, American popular music and jazz performance. Gia lived out her days in the Florida panhandle and died on September 23, 2013 in Pensacola, at the age of 72. She is buried alongside her husband Louis Prima at Lakelawn Metaireie Cemetery, New Orleans, Louisiana.
(Edited from Wikipedia, Legacy & The Gia Maione Prima Foundation)