R.I.P.: Jazz Singer Keely Smith Dead

Keely Smith, the iconic jazz and pop vocalist who achieved success as both a solo artist and with her musical partnership with first husband Louis Prima, died on Dec. 16 in Palm Springs.

She was 89, according to Mercury News.

The singer was “under physicians’ care at the time of her passing from apparent heart failure,” according to publicist Bob Merlis.

Smith was a Grammy-wijnning talent, who first gained much attention when – as a teenager – she got the job as the “girl singer” in Prima’s band in 1948.

She married Prima in 1953 and the couple would go on to achieve much success together throughout the entertainment business, starring on stage and television as well as in films and on records.

They’d win a Grammy in 1959 – the first year the awards were handed out – for best pop vocal performance by a duo or Group for their smash “That Old Black Magic,” which remained on the charts for 18 weeks.


She was born Dorothy Jacqueline Keely in Norfolk VA on March 9, 1928. She showed a “natural aptitude for singing at a young age” and “at (age) 15, she got her first paying job with the Earl Bennett band,” according to  the news release.

She’d soon join up with Prima and the two of them would deliver such memorable hits as “Bei Mir Bist Du Schön” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” as well as the best selling albums with “The Wildest!” and “The Wildest Show At Tahoe.”

She’d make her solo debut in 1957 with “I Wish You Love,” which was produced by the legendary Nelson Riddle, and it established Smith as solo star. She’d follow up with other popular recordings, such as “Swingin’ Pretty” and “The Intimate Keely Smith.”

Smith and Prima divorced in 1961 and she was married Jimmy Bowen, who produced “The Intimate Keely Smith” album, in 1965. Her third marriage was to Bobby Milano, who she married in the ’70s.