RIP: KEELY SMITH

Keely Smith, the Grammy winning singer known for her solo recordings of jazz standards as well as her partnership with her first husband, Louis Prima, died Dec. 16 in Palm Springs, Calif. She was 89 and had been suffering from heart failure, according to her publicist, Bob Merlis.

Her hits included “Bei Mir Bist Du Schön” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” “That Old Black Magic,” which she reprised with Kid Rock at the 2008 Grammy awards, made a big impression on pop culture: Kermit the frog, wearing a wig, performed as Smith on the early Muppets show “Sam and Friends,” singing “That Old Black Magic.” Smith and Prima also performed the hit at John F. Kennedy’s inauguration.

Born Dorothy Jacqueline Keely in Norfolk, Va., she was of Cherokee and Irish parentage. She started out singing at a naval air station band and got her first paying job at age 15 with the Earl Bennett band.

She was hired as “girl singer” in Prima’s big band when still a teenager, and went on the road with the band in 1948. Smith and Prima married and had two children.

The duo won a Grammy in 1959, the first year of the awards, for best pop vocal performance by a duo or group for “That Old Black Magic,” which stayed on the charts for 18 weeks. They had hit albums with “The Wildest!” and “The Wildest Show at Tahoe.”

She was also Grammy-nominated later in life for the 2001 album “Keely Sings Sinatra.”

A mainstay of the Las Vegas lounge scene for many years, she was honored in the Las Vegas Hall of Fame as well as with stars on the Hollywood and Palm Springs walks of fame.

Smith also sang in several movies including “Hey Boy! Hey Girl!,” “Senior Prom” and “Thunder Road.”

She launched as a solo artist in 1957 with “I Wish You Love,” produced by Nelson Riddle, and she followed that with “Swingin’ Pretty” and “The Intimate Keely Smith,” which was re-released last year. The album was produced by Jimmy Bowen, whom she married in 1965 after divorcing Prima in 1961.

In 2005, she played a series a well-received shows in Manhattan. Variety said, “Smith’s bold, dark voice took firm hold on a handful of great standard tunes, and she swung hard.” Her final performance was in 2011 at the Cerritos Performing Arts Center.

Survivors include her children Toni Prima and Luanne Prima...

HEALTHWATCH: KEELY SMITH

It's sad to me to report, but Keely Smith - a legendary singer of the 1950s and 1960s is in failing health. Her daughter has had to take of her, and unfortunately they have hit hard times. Keely Smith is now 86. Here is the posting from their Go Fund Me page:

Dearest Friends, New & Old -

My name is Toni Prima and I am the eldest daughter of Louis Prima & Keely Smith.

My family & I desperately need your financial help and sincerely appreciate anything you can do for us.

Mother had to retire over five years ago for health reasons and I had to stop working two years ago now due to my own physical problems. I also had a bad car accident a year ago that forced me further into illness. I am now on a walker and unable to stand for very long.

I was having a blast working with the UK's great jive & swing band - The Jive Aces. I was also regularly singing with the marvelous Johnny Holiday Show in downtown Los Angeles.

Once I had to stop working and Mother had been stopped for a few years - as you can imagine all the savings went out the door. We have all gone into terrible debt and been selling things as we could.
It simply is not enough and we need help!!!

At this point we are unable to pay household bills, buy groceries & medicine, and keep our caregivers with us which is of utmost importance.

Please if you are able to help us out it will be such a blessing!!! No amount is too little - every penny is appreciated - and please share this post!!!

God Bless you all and thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!

Toni

I don't have the exact info on what is ailing Keely Smith but I believe it is a heart ailment. If you would like to give to their Go Fund Me page, you can see their info HERE.

I will keep everyone posted on any additional news...

UPDATE: Sad to report that Keely Smith has passed away. You can read more about it: HERE 

BORN ON THIS DAY: KEELY SMITH

In the 1950s, one of the great voices in popular music was that of Keely Smith. She never became the vocal mega star that Jo Stafford or Doris Day did, but Smith made some wonderful albums during her career. She was born on this day, March 9th, in 1932. Smith showed a natural aptitude for singing at a young age. At 14, she started singing with a naval air station band led by Saxie Dowell. At 15, she got her first paying job with the Earl Bennett band.

Smith made her professional debut with Louis Prima in 1949 (the couple were married in 1953); Smith played the "straight guy" in the duo to Prima's wild antics and they recorded many duets. These include Johnny Mercer's and Harold Arlen's "That Ol' Black Magic", which was a Top 20 hit in the US in 1958. In 1959, Smith and Prima were awarded the first-ever Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group or Chorus for "That Ol' Black Magic". Her "dead-pan" act was a hit with fans. The duo followed up with the minor successes "I've Got You Under My Skin" and "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen", a revival of the 1937 Andrews Sisters hit. Smith and Prima's act was a mainstay of the Las Vegas lounge scene for much of the 1950s.

Smith appeared with Prima in the 1959 film, Hey Boy! Hey Girl!, singing "Fever", and also appeared in and sang on the soundtrack of the previous year's Thunder Road. Her song in Thunder Road was "Whippoorwill". Her first big solo hit was "I Wish You Love". In 1961, Smith divorced Prima. She then signed with Reprise Records, where her musical director was Nelson Riddle. In 1965, she had Top 20 hits in the United Kingdom with an album of Beatles compositions, and a single, "You're Breaking My Heart". Her Reprise recordings have never been made available on CD.

In 1985, she made a comeback with I'm In Love Again (Fantasy Records). Her albums, Swing, Swing, Swing (2002), Keely Sings Sinatra (2001) for which she was Grammy nominated, and Keely Swings Count Basie Style with Strings (2002) garnered critical and fan acclaim. She works a light touring schedule. She was booked at the Cafe Carlyle in New York City in 2007. On February 10, 2008, Smith performed "That Old Black Magic" with Kid Rock at the 50th Grammy Awards. Happy 81st birthday Miss Keely Smith...