Smith showed a natural aptitude for singing at a young age. At 14, she sang with a naval air station band led by Saxie Dowell. At 15, she got her first paying job with the Earl Bennett band.
She saw Louis Prima perform in New York City in 1949. When he came through Norfolk, Virginia, she auditioned. She became the calm balance to Prima's wild antics, as he made his way through a repertoire of jump blues, jazz, and Italian pop songs. They recorded together in 1949 and married in 1953.
Their songs included Johnny Mercer's and Harold Arlen's "That Ol' Black Magic", which was a Top 20 hit in the US in 1958. At the 1st Annual Grammy Awards in 1959, Smith and Prima won the first Grammy for Best Performance by a Vocal Group for "That Ol' Black Magic". Her deadpan act was popular 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. Though her actual voice was not used, she was caricatured as "Squealy Smith" in Bob Clampett's 1960 Beany and Cecil episode "So What and the Seven Whatnots," a Snow White spoof in a Vegas setting.
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 1957. 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" which reached No. 14 in April.
She returned to singing in 1985, recording the album I'm in Love Again with Bud Shank and Bill Perkins. Her albums, Swing, Swing, Swing (2002), Keely Sings Sinatra (2001) for which she received a Grammy nomination, and Keely Swings Count Basie Style with Strings (2002) won critical and popular acclaim.
In 1998, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to her.
Smith was of Irish and Native American ancestry.
Married Louis Leo Prima July 13, 1953, in Virginia Beach; the couple divorced in 1961. They had two children: Toni Elizabeth and Luanne Francis.
Married Jimmy Bowen in 1965. The couple divorced in 1969.
Married singer Bobby Milano (real name Charles Caci) in 1975 in Palm Springs. Frank Sinatra gave the bride away.
Smith died of apparent heart failure in Palm Springs California on December 16t, 2017 at the age of 89.
Discography
1957 I Wish You Love (Capitol)
1958 Politely! (Capitol)
1959 Swingin' Pretty (Capitol)
1959 Be My Love (Dot)
1960 Swing, You Lovers (Dot)
1960 A Keely Christmas (Dot)
1961 Twist With Keely Smith (Dot)
1961 Dearly Beloved (Dot)
1962 Because You're Mine (Dot)
1962 What Kind of Fool Am I? (Dot)
1962 Cherokeely Swings (Dot)
1963 Little Girl Blue/Little Girl New (Reprise)
1964 The Intimate Keely Smith (Reprise)
1965 Keely Smith Sings the John Lennon—Paul McCartney Songbook (Reprise)
1965 That Old Black Magic (Reprise)
1985 I'm In Love Again (Fantasy)
2000 Swing, Swing, Swing (Concord Jazz)
2001 Keely Sings Sinatra (Concord Jazz)
2002 Keely Swings Basie-Style With Strings (Concord Jazz)
2005 Vegas '58 – Today (Concord)
With Louis Prima
1958 Breaking It Up! (Columbia)
1958 Louis Prima & Keely Smith on Broadway (Coronet)
1959 Louis and Keely! (Dot)
1958 Together (Dot)
1961 Return of the Wildest! (Dot)
With Louis Prima and Sam Butera and the Witnesses
1957 The Call of the Wildest (Capitol)
1957 The Wildest Show at Tahoe (Capitol)
1958 Las Vegas Prima Style (Capitol)
1959 Hey Boy! Hey Girl! (Capitol)
1960 On Stage (Dot)
I've Got A Crush On You
Keely Smith Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Would be to capture me
But you had such persistence, you wore down my resistance
I fell and it was swell
I'm your big and brave and handsome Romeo
How I won you I shall never, never know
It's not that you're attractive
When you came into view
I've got a crush on you, sweetie pie
All the day and night-time give me sign
I never had the least notion that
I could fall with so much emotion
Could you coo, could you care
For a cunning cottage we could share
The world will pardon my mush
'Cause I have got a crush on you
Could you coo, could you care
For a cunning cottage
That we could share
The world will pardon my mush
'Cause I have got a crush, my baby, on you
In Keely Smith's song "I've Got a Crush on You," the singer expresses her feelings of attraction towards the object of her affection. The first verse talks about how many women would love to be with the person she desires, but it was his persistence that won her over. She fell for him and it was a wonderful feeling.
The second verse is interesting because the singer admits that it's not necessarily the person's physical attractiveness that drew her in, but rather the effect he had on her heart. She says her heart "grew active" when he came into view, indicating that it was his presence that made her fall for him.
The chorus is catchy and playful, with the singer referring to the person she likes as "sweetie pie" and expressing how much she thinks about them day and night. She can't believe the depth of her emotions for this person, and fantasizes about a life they could share together.
Overall, the song is a fun and romantic expression of infatuation and joy in falling for someone unexpected.
Line by Line Meaning
How glad the many millions of Annabelles and Lillians
There are many women in the world who would love to be with me.
Would be to capture me
They want to be in a relationship with me.
But you had such persistence, you wore down my resistance
You were persistent in pursuing me and eventually I gave in.
I fell and it was swell
I fell in love with you and it's been great.
I'm your big and brave and handsome Romeo
I am the heroic love interest in our romance.
How I won you I shall never, never know
I am unsure how I managed to win your heart.
It's not that you're attractive
Your physical appearance isn't what drew me to you.
But, oh, my heart grew active
But my heart became active and full of emotion when I met you.
When you came into view
When I saw you for the first time, I felt something special.
I've got a crush on you, sweetie pie
I have strong feelings of affection for you, my sweet partner.
All the day and night-time give me sign
I am constantly looking for signs of your affection and reciprocation.
I never had the least notion that
I never thought that I could feel such strong emotions for someone.
I could fall with so much emotion
I could fall in love so hard and strongly with someone.
Could you coo, could you care
Would you be willing to express your love and affection for me?
For a cunning cottage we could share
We could live together in a cozy and cleverly-built home.
The world will pardon my mush
Others may find my expressions of affection overly sentimental or silly, but that doesn't matter.
'Cause I have got a crush on you
Because I am deeply in love with you.
Could you coo, could you care
Would you be willing to reciprocate my love and affection?
For a cunning cottage
That we could share
We could live together in a cleverly-designed and comfortable home.
The world will pardon my mush
Others may find me overly sentimental, but I don't care because of how deeply I feel for you.
'Cause I have got a crush, my baby, on you
Because I am deeply and passionately in love with you, my beloved partner.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind