Ethel Smith was an organist

Organist

An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...

 who played primarily in a pop

Popular music

Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...

 style on the Hammond organ

Hammond organ

The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...

.

Her recording of Tico Tico was her best-known hit. It reached No. 14 on the U.S. pop charts in November 1944 and sold over one million copies worldwide. She also recorded it for the 1944 film, Bathing Beauty

Bathing Beauty

Bathing Beauty is a 1944 musical starring Red Skelton, Basil Rathbone and Esther Williams and directed by George Sidney.Although this was not William's screen debut, it was her first Technicolor musical. The film was initially to be titled "Mr. Co-Ed" with Red Skelton having top billing...

. She was married to Ralph Bellamy

Ralph Bellamy

Ralph Bellamy was an American actor whose career spanned sixty-two years.-Early life:He was born Ralph Rexford Bellamy in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Lilla Louise , a native of Canada, and Charles Rexford Bellamy. He ran away from home when he was fifteen and managed to get into a road show...

 from 1945 to 1947. She died on May 10, 1996.

78s

• Teddy Bear's Picnic/Fiddle-Faddle,Decca 60.298 American Series(very rare)
• Tico Tico, Decca 23353
• Tico Tico/Lere Lero, Decca BM03571 American Series
• White Christmas/Jingle Bells, Decca BM30601 American Series
• Paran pan pin - Cachita/The parrot, Decca BM03632 American Series
• Quizas, quizas, quizas/Made for each other, Decca 60.139 American Series
• Blame it on the samba/The green cockatoo, Decca 60.249 American Series
• Mambo Jambo, Decca 27119
• Monkey on a string, Decca 27183
• I'm walking behind you/April in Portugal, Brunswick 05147
• Ethel's birthday party/The wedding of the painted doll, Decca 60.605

LPs

• Ethel Smith's Hit Party, Decca DL 4803
• Ethel Smith's Cha Cha Cha Album, Decca DL 8164
• Christmas Music, Decca DL 8187
• Galloping Fingers, Decca DL 8456
• Latin From Manhattan, Decca DL 8457
• Miss Smith Goes To Paris, Decca DL 8640
• Dance To The Latin Rhythm's Of Ethel Smith, Decca DL 8712
• Waltz With Me, Decca DL 8735
• Lady Fingers, Decca DL 8744
• Bright And Breezy, Decca DL 8799
• Ethel Smith Swings Sweetly, Decca DL 74095
• The Many Moods Of Ethel Smith, Decca DL 74145
• Make Mine Hawaiian, Decca DL 74236
• Lady Of Spain, Decca DL 74325
• Rhythm Antics!, Decca DL 74414
• At The End Of A Perfect Day, Decca DL 74467
• Hollywood Favorites, Decca DL 74618
• Ethel Smith's Hit Party, Decca DL 74803
• Seated One Day At The Organ, Decca DL 78902
• Bouquet Of The Blues, Decca DL 78955
• Ethel Smith On Broadway, Decca DL 78993
• Ethel Smith, Vocalion VL 3669
• Organ Holiday, Vocalion VL 73778
• Silent Night--Holy Night, Vocalion VL 73882
• Parade, MCA Coral CB 20021

CDs

• Tico Tico, Living Era AJA-5506 (2004). A compilation of early releases from 1944-1952
• The Fabulous Organ Music of Ethel Smith, MCA MSD-35255 (out of print as of December 2005)
• The First Lady of the Hammond Organ: Plays "Tico Tico" & Other Great Recordings, Jasmine Music (2003). A 2-CD compilation of early recordings

Music books

• The Ethel Smith Hammond Organ Method Book One, Revised Edition, Copyright 1949 and 1964 By Ethel Smith Music Corp. New York, NY. For use on every Hammond Organ including all Spinet Models.