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)
This Love Of Mine
Keely Smith Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Though life is empty since you have gone.
You're always on my mind, though out of sight,
It's lonesome through the day,
But oh! the night.
I cry my heart out, it's bound to break,
Since nothing matters, let it break.
I ask the sun and the moon,
What's to become of it,
This love of mine.
The lyrics to Keely Smith's "This Love of Mine" express the pain and longing of a lover who has been abandoned. The singer states that even though her love is gone, it persists, and the emptiness of her life is a constant reminder of his absence. Even though she can't see him, he is always on her mind, and the loneliness she experiences during the day is heightened by the darkness and quiet of the night. Despite her efforts to keep her emotions contained, she cannot help but cry out her heartbreak, knowing that it could very well break beyond repair.
The lover then turns to the natural elements, asking the sun, the moon, and the stars what will happen to her love. This shows a sense of desperation and a desire for some kind of guidance or resolution. The lyrics suggest that the singer's love is intense and all-consuming, but at the same time, it is something that she has little control over. It is a force that persists regardless of the pain it causes.
Line by Line Meaning
This love of mine goes on and on,
My love for you will never fade away.
Though life is empty since you have gone.
My life is incomplete without you.
You're always on my mind, though out of sight,
Even though I can't see you, you're always in my thoughts.
It's lonesome through the day,
I feel lonely during the day.
But oh! the night.
But when night falls, the feeling intensifies.
I cry my heart out, it's bound to break,
I cry uncontrollably, which may lead to a broken heart.
Since nothing matters, let it break.
Since nothing else seems to matter, let my heart break.
I ask the sun and the moon,
I seek answers from the universe.
The stars that shine,
I look for guidance in the bright stars.
What's to become of it,
What will happen to this love of mine?
This love of mine.
This love I have for you.
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, THE MUSIC GOES ROUND, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Sol Parker, Henry W. Sanicola, Frank Sinatra
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind