Keely Smith Collection 1949-62 (3-CD)

Keely Smith was one of the most distinctive and multi-talented performers of the 1950s and ‘60s, combining a vocal versatility with an innate sense of comedy, which she used to good effect using her trademark deadpan style in stage and TV performances with her husband Louis Prima, with whom she also made some fine jazz, R&B and pop records, including the Grammy Award-winning “That Old Black Magic” in 1959, winner of Best Performances By A Vocal Group. She was a fine jazz singer, with a sense of swing and timing that placed her alongside the best of her peers, but she was equally at home performing sophisticated pop material with an orchestra, and this collection provides the opportunity to hear her in both environments. This great-value 80-track 3-CD set comprises selected recordings with Louis Prima’s Orchestra for the Mercury, Capitol and Dot labels from her 1949 debut with his band through to 1961, when they were divorced, and selected solo recordings for Capitol and Dot accompanied by the orchestras of Billy May, Nelson Riddle and others from 1956 through to 1962. It includes the chart hits with Louis Prima, “That Old Black Magic”, “The Bigger The Figure”, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” and “Bei Mir Bist Du Schon”. It’s a fine showcase for her talent and style during what was one of the most productive and important eras of her career.