Home » Jazz Musicians » Bev Kelly

Bev Kelly

Kelly, Bev (Beverly Wolfe Kelly), vocalist, composer, vocal coach; b. Rittman, Ohio, 18 June 1934. She grew up in Troy, Ohio. Her father was Donald W. Wolfe, (1914-1984) and her mother was Dora Ruble Wolfe, (1915-1983). Her brother is Bill, b. 1938. At the age of five, she began studying classical piano, which she continued through high school.

At age fourteen, she began studying classical voice, which culminated into a four-year vocal scholarship at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. While at the Conservatory, Bev began her professional singing career with the Teddy Raymore Trio. The trio performed not only jazz, but comedy, show tunes and popular music, an invaluable learning experience, giving Bev a solid background in show business.

After the birth of her first son, Greg in 1954, Bev teamed up with gifted pianist, Pat Moran. After the successful duo was featured on Steve Allen's Tonight Show, they moved to Chicago and added drummer Johnny Whited and bassist John Doling, to become the Pat Moran Trio featuring Bev Kelly. The trio plus Bev also sang four-part harmony.

While on a record promoting tour in 1960, Bev was in an automobile accident in Northern California. After recuperating, she began singing at the Coffee Gallery in San Francisco with Pony Poindexter and his trio, featuring the late Flip Nunez on piano. At this point in Bev's career, most of her fans believed she had 'dropped out of sight.' In reality, Bev made a monumental decision. She did not feel that having a career and traveling mixed well with being a mom to her son, Greg. So she opted for the latter with no regrets. In 1961, she and her husband, Chuck, moved to the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach, California. In 1963 they had another son, Shawn. During these years, Bev began writing poetry and music, doing photography, making pottery, raising German Shepherds, and working on her doctorate in psychology. (Bev was awarded her Ph.D. in Psychology in 1984.) She also worked as a Vocal Coach. Among her students were Gail Farrell, Mary Lou Metzger, and Cissy King of the Lawrence Welk Show, and rock star/actor, Rick Springfield.

Word got around that Bev Kelly was alive and well, living in Long Beach.

She began working clubs with musicians that included Frank Rosolino, Hampton Hawes, Leroy Vinnegar, Mike Melvoin, Jack Wilson, Al Williams, Teddy Edwards, etc. Bev also sang on several commercials which included Chrysler, Continental Airlines, Kentucky Colonel Chicken, etc. She sang the theme song in the opening and closing credits for the Robert Altman film, "The Late Show," and recorded a series of albums in London, England that were produced by George Korngold for Reader's Digest, with arrangements by Alan Copeland and Dick Grove.

Read more

Tags

154
Album Review

Bev Kelly: In Person

Read "In Person" reviewed by AAJ Staff


Bev Kelly’s second album for Riverside is a contrast in every way. Her first, Love Locked Out, was a meticulous studio date in New York, lesser-known songs (“Lonelyville”, “Weak for the Man”) by a stellar cast (Burrell, Edison, Hinton). This was live at San Francisco’s Coffee Gallery (does thatOne other thing you notice: Bev has changed her delivery. At times she would sound overly breathy, and linger on words in a way that seemed affected. That style was an acquired ...

Read more articles

Recording

Bev Kelly: From the Heart

Bev Kelly: From the Heart

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

A couple of days ago I heard from singer Bev Kelly. If you're unfamiliar with Bev, dig my two-part interview with her from 2013 (here and here). In the 1950s, Bev was one of the hippest jazz vocalists in Chicago's bevy of hotel clubs and lounges. She recorded quite a few important albums, including several with pianist and vocalist Pat Moran. There also were two albums for Riverside—Love Locked Out (1959) and In Person (1960). Also notable was You Go ...

Interview

Interview: Bev Kelly (Part 2)

Interview: Bev Kelly (Part 2)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Few singers curl up on a song's lap like Bev Kelly. In the '50s she worked clubs and recorded several albums with pianist Pat Moran. She also recorded her first solo album in 1957. But just as she had attracted the attention of personal manager John Levy, Bev had a choice to make—her career or her son Greg. A close call in a car accident also made her think hard about her priorities. Bev had a cute singing style that ...

1

Interview

Interview: Bev Kelly (Part 1)

Interview: Bev Kelly (Part 1)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

With the proliferation of travel in the 1950s, Chicago became a hotbed for jazz-pop singers and singing groups. The city was a national railroad hub, and passengers arriving from the East, West and South needed places to stay. As the number of hotels in Chicago grew, so did the number of hotel lounges and clubs and establishments that competed with them and handled the spillover. Singers were especially popular with weary business travelers, particularly hip singers with a swinging jazz-pop ...

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Live At The Jazz...

Self Produced
2007

buy

Bev Kelly In Person

Riverside Records
1999

buy

In Person

Fantasy Jazz
1999

buy

Love Locked Out

Riverside Records
1985

buy

You Go To My Head

Riverside Records
1981

buy

Beverly Kelly Sings...

Riverside Records
1958

buy

Similar

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.