Kay Starr
Kay Starr | |
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RCA Victor |
Kay Starr (born Catherine Laverne Starks; July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016)[1][2] was an American singer who enjoyed considerable success in the late 1940s and 1950s. 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
Catherine Laverne Starks was born in
Young Catherine continued to enter talent contests and eventually landed a spot performing on Dallas's
Starr's singing attracted the attention of
Starr and her mother then returned to Memphis where she completed high school in 1940.[6] She then moved to Los Angeles and worked alongside Venuti until 1941.[8]
Career
This section needs additional citations for verification. (June 2023) |
Starr then signed with Wingy Manone's band. From 1943 to 1945 she sang with Charlie Barnet's ensemble, retiring for a year after contracting pneumonia and later developing nodes on her vocal cords as a result of fatigue and overwork. In 1946 Starr became a soloist and a year later signed a contract with Capitol Records. The label had a number of female singers signed up, including Peggy Lee, Ella Mae Morse, Jo Stafford, and Margaret Whiting, so it was hard to find her a niche of her own. In 1948 when the American Federation of Musicians was threatening a strike, Capitol wanted to have each of its singers record a back list for future release. Being junior to all these other artists meant that every song Starr wanted to sing was taken by her rivals on the label, leaving her a list of old songs which nobody else wanted to record.
In 1950, she returned home to Dougherty and heard a fiddle recording of
In 1955, she signed with
Most of Starr's songs had jazz influences. Like those of
After rock-and-roll swept established performers from the charts, Starr appeared in the television series Club Oasis, mostly associated with the bandleader Spike Jones. She recorded several albums, including Movin' (1959), Losers, Weepers… (1960), I Cry By Night (1962), and Just Plain Country (1962).
After leaving Capitol for a second time in 1966, Starr continued touring in the US and the UK. She recorded several jazz and country albums on small independent labels, including How About This, a 1968 album with Count Basie.
In the late 1980s she performed in the revue 3 Girls with Helen O'Connell and Margaret Whiting, and in 1993 she toured the United Kingdom as part of Pat Boone's April Love Tour. Her first live album, Live at Freddy's, was released in 1997. She sang with Tony Bennett on his album Playin' with My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues (2001). Two of her songs, Powder Your Face with Sunshine and It's a Good Day, appeared in the 2007 movie Fido.
Death
Starr died on November 3, 2016, in Los Angeles at the age of 94 from complications of Alzheimer's disease. Starr was married six times including, briefly in 1953, to bandleader/composer Vic Schoen. Starr was survived by a daughter.[12]
Discography
- Studio albums
- The Kay Starr Style (1955)
- In a Blue Mood (1956)
- The One, The Only Kay Starr (1956)
- Blue Starr (1957)
- Rockin' with Kay (1957)
- I Hear the Word (1959)
- Movin'! (1959)
- Losers, Weepers (1960)
- Movin' on Broadway! (1960)[13]
- Kay Starr: Jazz Singer (1960)
- Just Plain Country (1962)
- I Cry by Night (1962)
- Tears and Heartaches/Old Records (1966)[14]
- When the Lights Go on Again (1968)[15]
- How About This (with Count Basie) (1969)
- Kay Starr Country (1974)[16]
- Back to the Roots (1975)[17]
- Kay Starr (1981)[18]
References
- ^ Gravestone photo with name Catherine Laverne Starks, findagrave.com. Accessed June 3, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Belcher, David (November 3, 2016). "Kay Starr, Hillbilly Singer With Crossover Appeal, Dies at 94". The New York Times. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
- ^ ISBN 978-0313301575.
- ^ Moore Campbell, Ginnie. "The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture: Kay Starr (1922-2016)". Oklahoma History.org. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Vacher, Peter (November 6, 2016). "Kay Starr obituary: Jazz". The Guardian. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
- ^ ISBN 978-0806151717.
- ISBN 978-0375421495.
- ^ Johnson, Bev. "Kay Starr: Memphis Music Hall of Fame". Memphis Music Hall of Fame. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
- ^ "Show 2 - Play a Simple Melody: American pop music in the early fifties. Part 2". Digital.library.unt.edu. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
- ^ Order Christmas Records Now, The Billboard, December 9, 1950, page 17
- ^ There's Christmas in the Air, The Billboard, November 29, 1952, pg. 29
- ^ Belcher, David (November 3, 2016). "Kay Starr, Hillbilly Singer With Crossover Appeal, Dies at 94". The New York Times. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
- ^ Starr, Kay (1960). "Movin' on Broadway! (LP Information)". Capitol Records. T-1374.
- ^ Starr, Kay (1966). "Tears and Heartaches/Old Records (LP Information)". Capitol Records. ST-2550.
- ^ Starr, Kay (January 1968). "When the Lights Go on Again (LP Information)". ABC Records. ABC-631.
- ^ Starr, Kay (1974). "Kay Starr Country (LP Information)". GNP Crescendo Records. GNSP-2083.
- ^ Starr, Kay (1975). "Back to the Roots (LP Information)". GNP Crescendo Records. GNSP-2090.
- ^ Starr, Kay (1981). "Kay Starr (LP Information)". GNP Crescendo Records. GP-5020.