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)
Stormy Weather
Keely Smith Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Stormy weather
Since my man and I ain't together,
Keeps rainin' all the time
Life is bare, gloom and misery everywhere
Stormy weather
Just cant get my poor self together,
So weary all the time
When he went away the blues walked in and met me.
If he stays away old rockin' chair will get me.
All I do is pray the lord above will let me walk in the sun once more.
Cant go on, ev'ry thing I had is gone
Stormy weather
Since my man and I ain't together,
Keeps rainin' all the time
The song "Stormy Weather" by Keely Smith is a classic blues ballad that describes the emotional turmoil of the singer due to the absence of her lover. The lyrics are poignant, vividly capturing the sense of loss and hopelessness felt by the singer. The opening lines of "Don't know why there's no sun up in the sky / Stormy weather" sets the tone for the rest of the song, with the weather serving as a metaphor for the singer's emotional state. She feels trapped in a cycle of gloom and despair, unable to break free of the sadness that has engulfed her since her lover left. The refrain "Since my man and I ain't together, / Keeps rainin' all the time" reinforces this sense of ongoing misery and longing.
The second verse reveals the extent of the despair the singer is feeling. "Life is bare, gloom and misery everywhere / Stormy weather / Just cant get my poor self together, / I'm weary all the time" paints a vivid picture of emotional exhaustion and hopelessness. The line "When he went away the blues walked in and met me" suggested that the singer's misery is linked to the breakup and unable to move on. The final lines of the song "Cant go on, ev'rything I had is gone / Stormy weather / Since my man and I ain't together, / Keeps rainin' all the time" emphasize the singer's ongoing sense of despair and inability to find a way out.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't know why there's no sun up in the sky
I can't understand why it's so dark and gloomy outside
Stormy weather
The inclement weather outside reflects my current state of mind
Since my man and I ain't together,
Since the love of my life is no longer with me,
Keeps rainin' all the time
I feel as though it's constantly raining, both in the weather and in my soul
Life is bare, gloom and misery everywhere
Without my partner, life feels desolate and depressing
Just cant get my poor self together,
I'm struggling to pull myself out of this emotional turmoil
I'm weary all the time
I feel constantly drained and exhausted
When he went away the blues walked in and met me.
My partner leaving has caused me to feel down and depressed
If he stays away old rockin' chair will get me.
If he doesn't return soon, I fear I'll be consumed by my sadness and loneliness
All I do is pray the lord above will let me walk in the sun once more.
I'm desperately hoping for a brighter future, and I'm asking for divine intervention to help me find it
Cant go on, ev'ry thing I had is gone
I feel as though my entire world has been shattered
Since my man and I ain't together,
Because my partner is no longer by my side,
Keeps rainin' all the time
I can't seem to escape this constant feeling of sadness
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management, S.A. MUSIC
Written by: Harold Arlen, Ted Koheler
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind