First published 2010
In 1948 New Orleans, veteran trumpeter Louis Prima encounters Keely Smith, a young woman barely starting her performance career. She's half his age and heading toward an unremarkable life when chance brings them together. They create "The Wildest," a lounge act that transforms Las Vegas entertainment. Their partnership rockets them to national fame in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Record sales soar. Frank Sinatra, Ed Sullivan, and Robert Mitchum seek them out. They help establish Las Vegas as America's entertainment capital. Their romance parallels their professional ascent until they perform "That Old Black Magic" at John F. Kennedy's inauguration. Soon after this career peak, their love story dissolves, though their artistic legacy endures. Clavin captures both the intimate dynamics between two performers and the broader transformation of American show business during the era when Las Vegas emerged as the nation's premier entertainment destination.
Genres: romance, 20th-century, american, biography-memoir, music
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, rags-to-riches
Setting: New Orleans, Las Vegas
Period: 1948, 1950s, 1960s
224 pages · Hardcover · Chicago Review Press