Kay starr singer biography
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Kay Starr obituary
In the pre-rock’n’roll era, popular vocalists often flirted with jazz. Many grew up surrounded bygd the music of the big bands and felt at home with jazz phrasing. Some, like Kay Starr, who has died aged 94, performed and recorded with jazz musicians before finding wider success with pop songs and novelties.
Starr’s early recordings have the kind of bluesy warmth and distinctive swing sense that suggest she might have emulated the likes of Peggy Lee or Ella Fitzgerald had she chosen to stay closer to jazz. One trade paper of the time called her a “deep-voiced brunette thrush”. Instead, she became a jukebox favourite, first with Bonaparte’s Retreat in and then with Wheel of Fortune two years later, a major hit that became her “signature” song.
Katherine Starks was born in the small town of Dougherty, Oklahoma, of Native American stock: her father, Harry, was an ett samlingsnamn för flera ursprungsfolk i nordamerika and her mother, Annie, part Choctaw, Cherokee and Irish. The family moved to Dallas whe
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“I like the songs that have to do with life. It has always been my theory that a singer, male or female, is no more than an actor or actress set to music. They are only as good as the stories they tell.”
Kay Starr
Biography
Native Oklahoman Katherine “Kay” Laverne Starks moved with her family to towns in Texas and Tennessee and began her singing career at the age of eight. She was only thirteen when she began singing for a daily radio show in Tennessee. She worked there several summers before performing with Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys at the Grand Ole Opry and singing with Bob Crosby and Frank Sinatra. She recorded an album with Glenn Miller’s orchestra when she was only fifteen and performed at military bases with Charlie Barnett’s band throughout World War II. She received her first Gold Record with the hit “Wheel of Fortune” in the ’s and later, sang such hits as “The Lonesomest Gal in Town,” “Angry,” “Rock and Roll Waltz,” “Bonaparte’s Retreat,” and “Side by Si
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Kay Starr
American singer (–)
Kay Starr | |
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Publicity photo, c.&#;s | |
| Birth name | Catherine Laverne Starks |
| Born | ()July 21, Dougherty, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | November 3, () (aged&#;94) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Traditional pop, jazz, country, western swing |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Labels | Capitol, RCA Victor, Happy Tiger, His Master's Voice |
Musical artist
Kay Starr (born Catherine Laverne Starks; July 21, – November 3, )[1][2] was an American singer who enjoyed considerable success in the late s and s. She was of Iroquois and Irish heritage. Starr performed multiple genres, such as pop, jazz, and country, but her roots were in jazz.
Early life
[edit]Catherine Laverne Starks was born in Dougherty, Oklahoma[2][3] to Annie and Harry Starks.[4] Her mother's ancestors were Irish-American while her father was a Native American Iroquois. She would later claim to be both Cherokee and Choctaw desce