Shadow2700 — 9 years ago(November 03, 2016 02:10 PM)

Kay Starr, best remembered for the 1952 hit The Wheel Of Fortune (#1) and 1956s Rock And Roll Waltz (#1), died Thursday (November 3) at her home in Beverly Hills at the age of 94. Born Katherine Laverne Starks in Dougherty, Oklahoma, she sang on the radio as a child in Dallas and Memphis before settling in under her new name as a girl vocalist with Joe Venutis orchestra at the age of 15. Stints with other bands followed, including Glen Miller and Bob Crosby, before Kay signed a solo contract with Capitol Records in 1947. Hits like Hoop-De-Doo (#2-1950) and Bonapartes Retreat (#4-1950) followed and in 1955 she switched to RCA Records, only to see her chart popularity wane in the face of rock n roll music. She continued to perform onstage for many years and was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Billie Holiday herself once remarked that Kay Starr was the only white woman that could sing the blues.
http://www.oldiesmusic.com/news.htm