In the 1950s my Mom and Dad went down to NYC to see Louis Prima and Keely Smith. I find this difficult to understand because my parents were not avant-guarde, did not really like new music and seldom went out to even local restaurants. They were far from the beatnik image of Louis and Keely.
I saw this video because it is saxophonist Sam Butera’s birthday. Here is Louis and Sam doing a killer version of Night Train. Keely is playing some deadpan comedy in the background. The short hair showed that she was a beatnik and probably a communist. (I guess today she’d have tattoos and call herself a Goth).