Kay Starr
| Kay Starr | |
|---|---|
Starr in 1999
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Katherine Laverne Starks |
| Born |
July 21, 1922 Dougherty, Oklahoma, United States |
| Died | November 3, 2016 (aged 94) Beverly Hills, California, United States |
| Genres | Traditional pop, jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1939–2016 |
| Labels | Capitol, RCA Victor |
| Website | Official website |
Katherine Laverne Starks (July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016), known as Kay Starr, was an American pop and jazz singer who enjoyed considerable success in the 1940s and 1950s. She is best remembered for introducing two songs that became #1 hits in the 1950s, "Wheel of Fortune" and "The Rock And Roll Waltz".
Starr was successful in every field of music she tried: jazz, pop and country. But her roots were in jazz. Billie Holiday, considered by many the greatest jazz singer of all time, called Starr "the only white woman who could sing the blues."
Kay Starr was born Katherine Laverne Starks on a reservation in Dougherty, Oklahoma. Her father, Harry, was a full-blooded Iroquois Indian; her mother, Annie, was of mixed Irish and American Indian heritage. When her father got a job installing water sprinkler systems for the Automatic Sprinkler Company, the family moved to Dallas, Texas. There, her mother raised chickens, whom Kay serenaded in the coop. Kay's aunt Nora was impressed by her 7-year-old niece's singing and arranged for her to sing on a Dallas radio station, WRR. First she took a talent competition by storm, finishing 3rd one week and placing first every week thereafter. Eventually she had her own 15-minute show. She sang pop and "hillbilly" songs with a piano accompaniment. By age 10 she was making $3 a night, which was quite a salary during the Great Depression.
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Wikipedia