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)
You're Driving Me Crazy
Keely Smith Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Why did you leave me lonely?
For here's a heart that's only
For nobody but you!
I'm burning like a flame, dear;
Oh, I'll never be the same, dear;
I'll always place the blame, dear,
Yes, you,
You're driving me crazy!
What did I do? What did I do?
My tears for you
Make everything hazy,
Clouding the skies of blue.
How true,
Were the friends who were near me to cheer me,
Believe me, they knew!
But you,
Were the kind who would hurt me, desert me,
When I needed you!
Yes, you!
You're driving me crazy!
What did I do to you?
In Keely Smith's song, "You're Driving Me Crazy," the singer is addressing a former lover who has left her feeling sad and alone. She questions why he would leave her in such a state, for she claims to have had a heart that belonged only to him. The singer then goes on to describe how the absence of her lover has caused her to feel as though she is burning like a flame and that she can never be the same again. The blame for this intense feeling is placed solely on her ex's shoulders, as she states "on nobody but you."
She then goes on to address the fact that her tears for him have caused everything to look hazy and cloudy, even the skies that were once blue. Despite the support of her friends who tried to cheer her up, the singer felt deserted and hurt by her ex's actions. She concludes the song by once again addressing her ex and claiming that he is "driving [her] crazy" and questions why he would treat her in such a way.
Overall, the lyrics express a sense of heartache and frustration at being left by someone who was once deeply loved. Keely Smith's powerful vocal performance highlights the emotional weight of the lyrics and is sure to resonate with anyone who has experienced the pain of a broken heart.
Line by Line Meaning
You left me sad and lonely;
After you left me, my heart felt empty and alone.
Why did you leave me lonely?
I want to know why you decided to abandon me and leave me feeling so alone.
For here's a heart that's only for nobody but you!
My heart belongs entirely to you and no one else.
I'm burning like a flame, dear;
I feel a burning pain in my heart because of my love for you.
Oh, I'll never be the same, dear;
Since you left me, I feel like I have changed and will never be the same person again.
I'll always place the blame, dear, on nobody but you.
I hold you responsible for my sadness and pain and can't blame anyone else.
Yes, you, You're driving me crazy!
You are making me feel insane with your actions and decisions.
What did I do? What did I do?
I can't understand what I did to make you leave me like this.
My tears for you make everything hazy, clouding the skies of blue.
My emotions related to you are so strong that I can't see anything clearly anymore and they are affecting my overall wellbeing.
How true, Were the friends who were near me to cheer me, Believe me, they knew!
My friends saw and knew how much I loved you and how much pain I'm going through.
But you, Were the kind who would hurt me, desert me, When I needed you!
You were cruel enough to cause me pain and leave me alone when I needed you the most.
What did I do to you?
I still can't understand why you treated me this way and what I did to deserve being hurt by you.
Lyrics © DONALDSON PUBLISHING CO, TOBAGO MUSIC COMPANY
Written by: Walter Donaldson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind