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Keely Smith, jazz singer dead at 89

By Wade Sheridan
Singer Keely Smith has died at the age of 89. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
1 of 2 | Singer Keely Smith has died at the age of 89. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Jazz singer Keely Smith, known for hits "That Old Black Magic" and "I've Got You Under My Skin," had died at the age of 89.

Smith died Saturday in Palm Spring, Calif. She had been suffering from heart failure, her publicist Bon Merlis said to Variety.

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Smith rose to fame alongside her first husband Louis Prima, with the pair running a successful Las Vegas lounge act throughout the 1950s. They released hit albums The Wildest and The Wildest Show at Tahoe.

The duo's song "That Old Black Magic," won an inaugural Grammy in 1959. Smith performed the song with Kid Rock at the 2008 Grammys.

Smith's solo career began in 1957 with I Wish You Love which sold over a million copies. Smith filed for divorce from Prima in 1961.

Other solo albums included Swingin' Pretty, The Intimate Keely Smith which was re-released in 2016 and Keely Sings Sinatra which was nominated for a Grammy in 2001.

Smith appeared in films such as Hey Boy! Hey Girl!, Senior Prom and Thunder Road.

She is survived by her children, Toni Prima and Luanne Prima.

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