The Kaye Stevens of “The Grass Will Sing for You” performed with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Dean Martin as a female member of the Rat Pack. Kaye Stevens visited and performed for troops in Vietnam with Bob Hope and Kaye Stevens was a regular on the Johnny Carson Show. “That” Kaye Stevens is the same as the Kaye Stevens who worked with arrangers and producers Tony Harris and Jimmy Haskell to cover some of the great songs of the 60s.
Unlike her previous 1961 Liberty album, Not So Great Songs Left Out of Great Movies, or her Columbia Live at the Riviera LP, her VMC studio album did not emphasize Kaye Stevens as a performer or comedienne. It shows her off as a deep-feeling interpreter of the music of her generation. The courage of her performances comes through in doing the songs of both male and female singer-songwriters in her own style that adds nuance and meaning, even to the work of the originals.
Kaye Stevens was born July 31, 1933 in Pittsburgh. She married and performed with trumpet player and bandleader Tommy Amato. Her break came at the Las Vegas Riviera when she stepped in for Debbie Reynolds to great acclaim. Her acting career included regular stints on Days of Our Lives in the 1970s, and a Golden Globe nomination for The New Interns. She later moved to Florida and continued performing, where she died at age 79 in 2011. A park in Margate, FL, is named for her.
