Kay Starr facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kay Starr
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Publicity photo, c. 1950s
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Katherine Laverne Starks |
| Born | July 21, 1922 Dougherty, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | November 3, 2016 (aged 94) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Traditional pop, jazz, country, western swing |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Labels | Capitol, RCA Victor |
Katherine Laverne Starks (born July 21, 1922 – died November 3, 2016), known as Kay Starr, was a famous American singer. She was very successful in the late 1940s and 1950s. Kay Starr sang many types of music, like pop, jazz, and country. Her musical journey began with jazz music. She was also part Iroquois and Irish.
Contents
Life and Career
Early Life and Radio Start
Kay Starr was born Katherine Laverne Starks on a reservation in Dougherty, Oklahoma. Her father, Harry, was an Iroquois Native American. Her mother, Annie, had both Irish and Native American family. When her father got a job, the family moved to Dallas.
Kay's mother raised chickens, and young Kay would sing to them! Her aunt Nora was amazed by 7-year-old Kay's singing. She helped Kay sing on a Dallas radio station called WRR. Kay came in third place in a talent contest one week. After that, she won first place every week!
Soon, she had her own 15-minute radio show. She sang pop and country songs with a piano. By the time she was 10, she was earning $3 a night. This was a lot of money during the Great Depression, a time when many people had very little.
Moving and New Name
When Kay's father changed jobs, her family moved to Memphis. She kept singing on the radio there. She sang Western swing music, which was a mix of country and pop. While working at a Memphis radio station, her fan mail often misspelled her name. This led her and her parents to change her name to "Kay Starr."
At 15, she got a big chance to sing with the Joe Venuti orchestra. The band needed a girl singer. Joe Venuti's manager heard Kay on the radio and suggested her. Even though she was young, her parents made sure she had a midnight curfew.
In 1939, she worked with famous bandleaders like Bob Crosby and Glenn Miller. She even filled in for another singer, Marion Hutton, with Glenn Miller's band. She recorded a few songs with them.
Becoming a Solo Star
After high school, Kay moved to Los Angeles. She joined Wingy Manone's band. From 1943 to 1945, she sang with Charlie Barnet's group. She took a year off to rest after getting sick and having trouble with her voice. This was from being tired and working too much.
In 1946, Kay Starr started singing by herself. A year later, she signed with Capitol Records. This record company had many other female singers, like Peggy Lee and Jo Stafford. It was hard for Kay to find her own special place. She often had to record older songs that other singers didn't want.
In 1950, Kay went back home to Dougherty. She heard a fiddle song called "Bonaparte's Retreat" by Pee Wee King. She loved it and wanted to record it. She contacted the song's publisher and explained she was a singer and needed words for the song. New lyrics were written, and "Bonaparte's Retreat" became a huge hit for her. Almost a million copies were sold!
In 1955, she signed with RCA Victor Records. Around this time, rock and roll music was becoming very popular. Kay had two more hits: "The Rock and Roll Waltz" and "My Heart Reminds Me." She stayed with RCA Victor until 1959, then went back to Capitol Records.
Many of Kay Starr's songs had jazz influences. Her singing style, like that of Frankie Laine, seemed to hint at the rock and roll music that would come later. Her biggest hit was "Wheel of Fortune", which was number one for 10 weeks! Other popular songs included "Side by Side" and "The Man Upstairs." She also had a popular Christmas song called "(Everybody's Waitin' For) The Man with the Bag".
After rock and roll took over the music charts, Kay Starr appeared on TV shows like Club Oasis. She recorded several albums, including Movin' (1959) and I Cry By Night (1962).
After leaving Capitol Records for a second time in 1966, Kay kept touring in the US and the UK. She recorded jazz and country albums on smaller labels. One notable album was How About This in 1968, which she made with the famous jazz musician Count Basie.
In the late 1980s, she performed in a show called 3 Girls. In 1993, she toured the United Kingdom. Her first live album, Live at Freddy's, came out in 1997. She also sang with Tony Bennett on his album Playin' with My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues in 2001. Two of her songs were even in the 2007 movie Fido.
Kay Starr passed away on November 3, 2016, in Los Angeles. She was 94 years old.
Discography
Kay Starr released many albums throughout her career. Here are some of them:
- Songs by Kay Starr (Capitol, 1950)
- The Hits of Kay Starr (Capitol, 1954)
- The One, the Only (RCA Victor, 1956)
- Movin'! (Capitol, 1959)
- Just Plain Country (Capitol, 1962)
- How About This with Count Basie (Paramount, 1968)
- Live at Freddy's 1986 (Baldwin Street Music, 1987)
