Muriel Smith (singer)

Muriel Burrell Smith (February 23, 1923 – September 13, 1985) was an American singer. In the 1940s and 1950s, she was a star of musical theater and opera, and was also the off-film ghost singer in several hit movies. She is perhaps best known in the UK for her 1953 #3 hit single, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me", which was first covered in 1965 by Mel Carter (and which remains a staple of easy listening and oldies radio to this day) and later in 1994 by Gloria Estefan. She died in relative obscurity in 1985.

Smith was born in New York City. Her early life remains obscure. She appeared on the popular radio series Major Bowes' Amateur Hour in 1937. After singing at a cocktail party in 1939, one of the guests, Elizabeth Westmoreland, arranged a scholarship for her at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. She was the first African-American to study at Curtis. She worked in a factory, earning $15 per week, to support herself during her studies. She graduated in 1946, in the same class as Leonard Bernstein and Isaac Stern.

She made her début on Broadway in December 1943, taking the title role in Carmen Jones, an updated version of Bizet's Carmen by Billy Rose and Oscar Hammerstein with an African-American cast. At that time, US opera companies were segregated — in the cast of 115, only one had previous Broadway experience.Carmen Jones received a positive critical reception, and ran on Broadway for 14 months. Smith toured with the production until 1947, with two further Broadway revivals.

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