ALTE DOCUMENTE
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Kay Starr
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Kay Starr was born Katherine LaVerne Starks in
After a winning appearance at
Kay's first big break came in 1937 when bandleader/violinist Joe Venuti came to
In June 1939, in an attempt to further her career, Joe Venuti
pitched Kay's talents to Gil Rodin manager of Bob
Crosby's Orchestra. At the time
Within a few days though, Kay received an offer to sing with the most famous
band in the land. In July 1939 Kay joined up with the Glenn Miller Orchestra to
replace an ailing Marion Hutton. During her two week stint with the legendary
Miller Orchestra, Kay made several remote radio broadcasts from the famous Glen
Island Casino, and made her first recordings on the Bluebird label singing
"Love With A Capitol YOU" and "
When her two weeks with the Miller Orchestra were up, Kay and her mother
returned to
During her time with Charlie Barnet, Kay recorded several V-Discs with the orchestra, which were distributed to the U.S. Armed Forces. In addition to this, she also recorded five sides on the Decca label with Barnet, most notably a bluesy rendition of "Share Croppin' Blues," which brought her both critical acclaim and recognition. Unfortunately, Kay's association with the Barnet Orchestra ended abruptly in 1945 when she caught pneumonia and collapsed during an Army camp show. Upon recovering she realized she had lost her voice, and rather than risk a surgical operation which may have altered her entire singing style, she treated her vocal cords and refrained from speaking - let alone singing - for six months.
Following Kay's professional hiatus, she returned with a deeper and huskier
voice that has since become her trademark. Settling in
Following the success of Kay's work as part of the Volumes of Jazz series, Capitol Records signed her to a contract in 1947. At the time the label was not hurting for female talent, and Kay struggled to find good material that didn't overlap with others on Capitol's roster of stars; which at the time included big name talent the likes of Peggy Lee, Ella Mae Morse, Jo Stafford and Margaret Whiting. Still, her first recording for the label, "I'm The Lonesomest Gal In Town," enjoyed success on the west coast regional Top Thirty Chart, and her cover of Russ Morgan's "So Tired" became her first top ten hit in January of 1949.
Kay's next success came with her cover of Perry Como's polka "Hoop-Dee-Doo," which reached number two on the charts in the spring of 1950. Then while on a hometown visit back in Dougherty, Kay first heard Pee Wee King's fiddle tune "Bonaparte's Retreat" and instantly fell in love with the simple melody. After having words written to the tune, Capitol released Kay's single in April of 1950 and it immediately shot up the charts becoming a near million seller, and Kay's first major hit.
Following the success of "Bonaparte's Retreat," Kay recorded several other
songs in the country genre, including several successful duets with popular
country singer "
In the next two years Kay demonstrated her versatility by recording a number of different hits in varying genres. Be it jazz, country, pop, spirituals, Broadway tunes or R&B, she earned the title of "hit maker" recording over two dozen top forty successes between 1948 and 1954. But when her Capitol contract was up for renewal in 1955 she accepted an offer from RCA Records. In Kay's view Capitol was not making any serious attempts to get her to re-sign, and she also felt that the label was treating her as it's "utility singer" by the wide gamut of styles and material they had her record.
Soon after signing with RCA, Kay again hit the American and British charts in January 1956 with her million selling gold record "The Rock And Roll Waltz." The single went on to become the number two top selling single of 1956 in the U.S., and the number one single of the year on the U.K. charts. "The Rock And Roll Waltz" also gave Kay the distinction of being the first female vocalist with a top hit in the 'Rock and Roll' era. Though she would record several more successful albums and singles, Kay returned again to Capitol in 1959 after being released from her RCA contract.
Though often regarded as a "single" artist because most of her material was released on singles, when Kay returned to Capitol the era of the long playing "concept" album was in full force. The "concept" album was pioneered by Frank Sinatra in the mid-1950s, and consisted of an album of songs compiled and arranged around a certain theme, or "concept." During this period Kay would record several such albums starting with Movin' (1959), an up-tempo jazz album. Considered by many to be the period of her best work, she would record several notable albums like Losers, Weepers.(1960) and I Cry By Night (1962) in the jazz/blues genre, as well as a country album aptly titled Just Plain County (1962).
Like many of the great pop vocalists of the 1940s and 1950s, Kay's
popularity began to wane in the 1960s as musical tastes changed with the advent
of 'Rock and Roll.' After departing from Capitol Records for a second time in
1966, Kay continued touring concert venues in the
Kay Starr has always considered herself a "saloon singer" who told a story with each song, and is critically recognized for the power and emotion of her singing style. Long respected by the jazz community, and considered a favorite and influence by many of yesterday and today's greats, Kay is truly a gifted and unique performer who has made a success of every musical genre she has tackled. Whether jazz, pop, country or R&B, Kay has done it all and marvelously. With recent compact disc re-issues of her classic albums and singles Kay's work has seen a resurgence and begun to delight new audiences who are just discovering, or rediscovering, her great talents and style. As for the woman herself, Kay continues to dazzle audiences and critics in her concert appearances, and we look forward to having her do so for many more years to come.
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