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Keely Smith
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Keely Smith, (born March 9, 1932), is an American jazz and popular music singer who enjoyed great popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. Her collaborations with Louis Prima and Frank Sinatra were highly rated. Smith was much admired for her exquisite singing style and her great beauty. In recent years, Smith resumed her career to critical acclaim.
Keely was born Dorothy Jaqueline Keely in Norfolk, Virginia of part Cherokee descent. She showed a natural aptitude for singing at a very young age. At age fourteen, Smith started singing with a naval air station band led by Saxie Dowell. At fifteen, she got her first paying job with the Earl Bennett band.
Smith made her professional debut with 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 together. 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 Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group or Chorus for “That Ol’ Black Magic.” Her “dead-pan” act, similar to Virginia O’Brien, was a solid 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 movie 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,” remembered as one of her very best. Her first big solo hit was “I Wish You Love”.
Keely was born Dorothy Jaqueline Keely in Norfolk, Virginia of part Cherokee descent. She showed a natural aptitude for singing at a very young age. At age fourteen, Smith started singing with a naval air station band led by Saxie Dowell. At fifteen, she got her first paying job with the Earl Bennett band.
Smith made her professional debut with 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 together. 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 Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group or Chorus for “That Ol’ Black Magic.” Her “dead-pan” act, similar to Virginia O’Brien, was a solid 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 movie 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,” remembered as one of her very best. Her first big solo hit was “I Wish You Love”.
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On the Sunny Side of the Street
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All The Way
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Don't Take Your Love From Me
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I Wish You Love
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I Can't Get Started
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Shoutbox
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adriano777 wrote:
wow what a voice !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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JonnyBluMusic wrote:
Diggin' it! ;) Cheers! Jonny www.jonnyblumusic.com
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keelypie wrote:
neva herd her just searched for keely
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philmfan wrote:
One of the great, pure voices. Hip, swingin', a real slick chick. Check her out in the Robert Mitchum film, Thunder Road.
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Fasstili wrote:
She has a wonderful voice!
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funkhunter wrote:
@ bigsexyshag: Nope. Keely is right. In fact Keely is her surname. see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keely_Smith
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ComradeKellybug wrote:
She's great, but >_> her hair is fugly. :(
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negativeEclipse wrote:
keely and louie
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bigsexyshaq wrote:
Hey Keely, your name is permanently spelled wrong. It's Kelly.
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Nightevacoil wrote:
Lovely singer!
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Xavierism wrote:
I can't wait to see Keely Smith on Sept. 17th in LA! *CHEERS*
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Recent Activity
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mzzhop, PRIMETIMEMAN10, charva929 and 23 other people added Keely Smith to their libraries. Tuesday morning
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ednaha uploaded keely_frank, p09758nld08 and keelysmith to Keely Smith. last month
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ednaha uploaded keely_frank, p09758nld08 and keelysmith to keely_frank. last month
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luizinacio4 tagged Keely Smith with ‘jazz’. last month
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luizinacio4, Monsunchen and 7 other people added Keely Smith to their libraries. last month
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lukierrez, autie9999, JWForeman1 and 2 other people added Keely Smith to their libraries. May 2009
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lukierrez tagged Keely Smith with ‘jazz’. May 2009
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fmera wrote about Keely Smith in Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. May 2009
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deundertaker, lvockell, iggymeister and 9 other people added Keely Smith to their libraries. May 2009
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muncher001 tagged Keely Smith with vocal jazz, big band, female vocalists and 2 other tags. May 2009
Related Journals
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Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
by fmera |
16 May 2009 | Add comment
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Fun times.
by schwatto |
17 Feb 2008 | Add comment
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Big Blue DJing Playlist 30/6/07
by JyotiMishra |
1 Jul 2007 | Add comment
Groups (6)
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Jazz Vocals
465 members
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Chanteuse
177 members
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Scorsese admirers
44 members
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Sweethearts
24 members
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Vout-O-Reenee
16 members
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