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)
The Music Stopped
Keely Smith Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And we were in a most romantic mood
Our hearts were lost in reverie
I only knew you were close to me
The music stopped, but we were still dancing
Which goes to show that music has charms
The lights were low so we kept on dancing
The band had left the stand and we were in heaven
Dancing on a cloud 'way off in the blue
The music stopped and people were glancing
But we went on dancin' for we didn't know
Because the lights were low
And we were in love
The music stopped but we were still dancing
Which goes to show that music has charms
The lights were low so we kept on dancing
I felt the glow of you in my arms
The band had left the stand and we were in heaven
Dancing on a cloud 'way off in the blue
The music stopped and people were glancing
But we went on dancin' for we didn't know
Because the lights were low
And we were in love
Keely Smith's "The Music Stopped" is a romantic ballad that captures the moment when the music halts during a dance, but the couple continues to dance, lost in their love. It's easy to imagine the scene, dimmed lights, soft music, and the couple lost in their dance as they slowly move together. The music stopping should have signaled the end of the dance, but the couple in the song doesn't acknowledge it. Instead, they keep dancing, and the singer only feels the glow of their love in their arms. It's a moment of pure, unadulterated passion, where nothing else matters except the feeling of their bodies moving together.
One can interpret the song lyrics in a few ways, but the most common interpretation is that it's about the power of love. The singer might be trying to say that love is more powerful than music or anything else, and that's why they continue to dance, even after the music stops. Perhaps there's a deeper meaning behind the song, like the idea that love can make us oblivious to everything else around us. The song might also be suggesting that moments like this are fleeting, and we should savor them while we can.
Overall, “The Music Stopped” is a beautiful ballad that speaks to the romantic hearts of lovers. It is a song about passion and the idea that love can conquer all. The lyrics are poetic and the music is soft and soothing, offering the listener a moment of calm and romance.
Interesting Facts:
Line by Line Meaning
It was a most romantic interlude
We were experiencing a highly romantic moment
And we were in a most romantic mood
We were both in a highly romantic state of mind
Our hearts were lost in reverie
We were both deeply lost in thought and contemplation
I only knew you were close to me
I was only aware of your proximity to me
The music stopped, but we were still dancing
Despite the music stopping, we were still continuing to dance
Which goes to show that music has charms
This experience shows that music has a certain magical quality to it
The lights were low so we kept on dancing
The dim lighting allowed us to continue our dance undisturbed
I felt the glow of you in my arms
I was deeply moved by the embrace of your physical presence
The band had left the stand and we were in heaven
The music had ceased, but the pure joy of our dance continued
Dancing on a cloud 'way off in the blue
Our dance felt transcendental and otherworldly
The music stopped and people were glancing
Others were observing us in the momentary silence
But we went on dancin' for we didn't know
We were oblivious to anyone else's presence and continued to dance
Because the lights were low
Our environment allowed us to feel comfortable and at ease
And we were in love
Our mutual affection for each other spurred us on and allowed us to remain in the moment
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: HAROLD ADAMSON, JIMMY MC HUGH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Glenn Walker
Unfortunately, this song is not on her "I wish you love" album as shown. It is on "Keely sings Sinatra", if you can find that one!