The Queen of Swing

Jennifer K Mahal

Keely Smith cannot remember the first song she ever sang as a paid

professional.

But she clearly remembers both of the songs she performed at an

audition with the late Louis Prima in 1948. She sang “Sleepytime Gal” and

“Embraceable You” to the man who would become her husband and partner.

Smith, 68, doesn’t plan to sing either song tonight at the Orange

County Performing Arts Center. Instead, she will perform mostly swing

music, with a few ballads thrown in.

“It’s happy,” Smith said from her Palm Springs home. “I love doing the

songs.”

The popularity of swing has revitalized Smith’s career. A 1998 Gap

commercial featuring Smith and Prima’s “Jump, Jive an’ Wail” gave her an

unexpected generation of new fans.

It also led to Smith -- whose hit songs include “That Old Black Magic”

and “I Wish You Love” -- being invited to perform at the House of Blues.

At first, the performer whose heyday was in the late ‘50s, was

skeptical that her music could appeal to such a young audience.

“I thought, ‘What am I going to do at the House of Blues?’ ” Smith

said. “But they sang all the songs with me.”

That success led her to record “Swing, Swing, Swing,” which was

released this year by the Concord label to rave reviews.

“It’s the best thing that I’ve ever done for my career,” Smith said.

It is the first album she has released since 1985’s “I’m in Love

Again” for Fantasy Records. But it is not the first album she recorded

during that period of time.

“When we recorded the Sinatra album, Frank was still alive,” Smith

said. “We played it for him, and he loved it. But before it could be

released, he passed away and everyone and their brother jumped on the

bandwagon.”

So Smith, whom Sinatra called “Injun” because of her Irish-Native

American heritage, and her third husband, producer Bobby Milano, decided

to hold off on releasing the compact disc. “Keely Smith sings Sinatra”

will be out in March.

Ballads are what Smith was and is known for. Her favorite song to

perform is one of her solo hits.

“It may surprise you, but I happen to love singing ‘I Wish You Love,’

” Smith said. “For a long time, I thought if I had to sing it again, I

would die. Then I thought of how good the song had been to me.”

Smith said it was not easy establishing a name separate from Louis

Prima, who died in 1978, 17 years after they divorced.

“When we broke up, he had tried to convince me that I’d be nothing

without him,” Smith said. “I didn’t work for long time. Dinah Shore got

me out of the house.”

Shore had Smith perform on her television show. That, Smith said, was

her new beginning.

“I was very shy in those days,” she said, “and I found that there I

was, I’m going to go off by myself.”

Now, Smith said she is shy in social situations, but not on stage. She

may hurry to the corner booth in a restaurant and be a wallflower at a

party, but on the boards she shines.

And the Performing Arts Center was lucky to book her for the Cabaret

Series.

“We almost didn’t take it because of the Thanksgiving weekend,” Smith

said.

FYI

* WHAT: The Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Cabaret series,

featuring Keely Smith

* WHEN: 7:30 and 9:30 tonight

* WHERE: Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Founders Hall, 600

Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

* COST: $54

* CALL: (714) 740-7878