90-year-old crooner is ‘Steele in Love’

By The Times-Standard |

PUBLISHED: July 21, 2020 at 1:11 a.m. | UPDATED: July 21, 2020 at 9:41 a.m.

Guitarist/composer Peter Curtis has teamed up with 90-year-old crooner Ken Steele to release a new recording, “Steele In Love.” The release date is August 4.

Curtis calls Steele “a classic crooner.” “The first time I heard him sing, I could imagine his voice broadcast on a mid-century radio program. It turns out that he sang on many of them,” Curtis said in a press release for the new album.

Steele was born in Winnipeg, Canada, and made his start singing in clubs there in the 1940s. Soon, he was performing with a 50-piece orchestra on a weekly, coast to coast, Canadian radio show. He moved to Toronto and became an in-demand singer. He performed regularly on numerous CBC radio and television programs and in nightclubs around the city.

As musical tastes changed to rock ‘n’ roll, Steele began writing for TV and radio and eventually moved to Los Angeles. He worked on a number of sitcoms including “Head of the Class.” He won an Emmy for his writing for Shari Lewis and Lambchop.

In 2002, Ken moved to Palm Springs and began singing professionally again. He still performs there today.