From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Sun Mar 9, 2003  2:12 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Keely Smith
 
KEELY SMITH (By Steve Walker)

Born Dorothy Jacqueline Keely Smith, 9 March 1932, Norfolk, Virginia

Keely Smith showed a natural aptitude for singing at an early age and
received professional singing experience with Saxie Dowell and Earl
Bennett. Her idols in singing were Ella Fitzgerald and June Christy.

She was only 15 when she first saw Louis Prima (see Shaun's BTBWY
tribute at message # 15392) perform in New York City. The following 
summer, Prima played her hometown of Norfolk, Virginia, at the same
time he was looking for a new female singer. Smith won the job on a 
more or less spur-of-the-moment audition, and recorded her first duets
with Louis in 1949. Eventually they became romantically involved as well,
marrying on July 13th, 1952. It was her first marriage, his fourth.

Soon, they were drawn to Las Vegas where they were offered a job in
November, 1954 at the Sahara Hotel doing a late night show from 12 
midnight to 6 am. They were joined by Prima's friend Sam Butera, a tenor
sax player, and his group, The Night Trainers (later The Witnesses) after 
Christmas 1954. Soon their act became a fixture at the Sahara's Casbar
Lounge, with visits by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Howard Hughes.

In 1956, Capitol Records visited the Sahara and were hooked. Producer Voyle
Gilmore's intent from the start was to capture as much as possible the live
feel of Prima's act. They started making recordings: "The Wildest", "Return
of the Wildest", "The Wildest Show in Tahoe". Keely also started making
recordings for Capitol as a solo artist. Her role in the Vegas act was to
provide a serious foil for Prima's crazy antics. However, Keely got to do a
few ballads during the show, and that is basically what she recorded for
Capitol, where her recording/arranging partners were Billy May and Nelson
Riddle. Her first album was "I Wish You Love" which was her best-known 
solo song away from Prima. Her other Capitol albums included "Politely" 
and "Swinging Pretty".

In 1958, Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen's "That Old Black Magic" became 
a surprise US Top 20 hit for Louis and Keely, who performed the song in the
movie "Senior Prom". The duo followed up with the minor successes "I've Got
You Under My Skin". Keely appeared with Prima in the movie "Hey Boy, Hey
Girl" (1959), singing "Fever", and she also sang on the soundtrack of
"Thunder Road" (1958). Also in 1958, she duetted with Frank Sinatra on the
Top 30 entry "How Are Ya Fixed For Love?"

In 1959 Smith and Prima won a lucrative contract with Dot Records, where
they had a minor hit with "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen", a revival of the 1937
Andrews Sisters favourite. Keely later regretted the move, saying that "it
was never the same after that, not like it had been with Capitol". Her albums
for Dot include "Because You're Mine", "Swing, You Lovers", "Dearly Beloved",
and "Be My Love".

Her relationship with Prima deteriorated, and she divorced him in 1961 on
grounds of extreme mental cruelty. His philandering took its toll on their
relationship, and unfortunately, their professional relationship also crumbled.

Strangely enough, Prima's career lulled, and Smith's sky-rocketed. It seemed
that audiences linked Prima with Smith so much that he couldn't get jobs
just by himself. Keely made her solo debut in Las Vegas in 1962, where her
show was often attended by good friend Frank Sinatra, whose nickname for
her was "Injun". Proud of her heritage, one of her early recordings was titled
"Cherokeely Yours". She has been aptly called the Indian Queen of Las Vegas
Swing.

In the early 60's, she signed to Sinatra's Reprise label, reuniting with
Nelson Riddle on an album entitled "Little Girl Blue". She later made an
album in the UK of songs by the Beatles that was a big seller. She even
had a Top 20 UK hit in 1965 with "You're Breaking My Heart".

Keely married record producer Jimmy Bowen (now divorced) and left her
singing career to take care of her children Toni and Lusanne. She started
singing again when they had grown up - she made a comeback album for
Verve/Fantasy called "I'm In Love Again", which featured accompaniment 
from top West Coast jazzmen Bud Shank and Bill Perkins.

Recommended listening:
Most of the Dot recordings have been released on CD by Jasmine Records.
There is a compilation CD from Capitol in the "Great Ladies of Song" series.

In his piece on Louis Prima, Shaun made mention of a brief insight into
Louis and Keely's love life. Here's the complete paragraph, taken from the
chapter on Louis Prima from Nick Tosches' book "Unsung Heroes of Rock'n'
Roll". Those of you of a nervous disposition should stop reading now....:

"An interesting little story concerning Louis Prima in Las Vegas was told in
Ovid Demaris's 1981 book, "The Last Mafioso: The Treacherous World Of
Jimmy Fratianno". The man being quoted here was Fratianno's associate
John Roselli: "Now this really kills me. One day Beldon sees this dealer
with a black eye and the guy tells him he's f.ing Keely in the dressing room
when suddenly he feels someone licking his balls. He jumps up, and Louis
punches him in the eye."