Keely Smith - Collection 1949-62 (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.

Track List:

Disc: 1

1. Charley My Boy
2. I Beeped When I Shoulda Bopped
3. Here, Pretty Kitty
4. Barnacle Bill the Sailor
5. (Nothing's Too Good) for My Baby
6. The Lip
7. I Wish You Love
8. I Keep Forgetting
9. High School Affair
10. Sentimental Journey
11. The Birth of the Blues
12. Don't Let a Memory
13. Autumn Leaves
14. Young and in Love
15. You'll Never Know
16. Good Behavior
17. A Foggy Day
18. I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues
19. As You Desire Me
20. Fools Rush in
21. Imagination
22. You Go to My Head
23. Don't Take Your Love from Me
24. When Your Lover Has Gone
25. When Day Is Done
26. Mr. Wonderful

Disc: 2

1. I Wish You Love
2. If We Never Meet Again
3. I Understand
4. Embraceable You/I Got It Bad
5. Nothing in Common
6. How Ya Fixed for Love
7. The Whipporwill
8. You Are My Love
9. S'posin'
10. The Song Is You
11. On the Sunny Side of the Street
12. I'll Get By
13. I'll Never Smile Again
14. Sweet and Lovely
15. All the Way
16. Lullaby of the Leaves
17. East of the Sun
18. I Can't Get Started
19. Cocktails for Two
20. I Never Knew
21. That Old Black Magic
22. Hey Boy
23. Nitey Nite
24. Indian Love Call
25. The Nearness of You
26. What Is This Thing Called Love

Disc: 3

1. Someone to Watch Over Me
2. The Man I Love
3. It's Magic
4. Stormy Weather
5. There Will Never Be Another You
6. It's Been a Long, Long Time
7. You're Driving Me Crazy
8. Star Dust
9. What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry
10. I've Got You Under My Skin
11. Don't Take Your Love from Me
12. Together
13. Teach Me Tonight
14. They Can't Take That Away from Me
15. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
16. Let's Get Away from It All
17. Let's Call the Whole Thing Off
18. Mutual Admiration Society
19. Bei Mir Bist Du Schon
20. I Don't Know Why
21. I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)
22. Night and Day
23. Nyow! Nyot Nyow! (The Pussycat Song)
24. Mashuga
25. When My Baby Smiles at Me
26. Begin the Beguine
27. Surprise Package
28. Because of You
29. Absent-Minded Lover
30. You'll Never Walk Alone