The American singer Kay Starr died yesterday aged 94 years old. Starr was a pop star in the 1950’s when glamour was an important element of a singer’s success. She had a string of hits including two that were at No 1 on the Billboard Charts for some weeks. When the 1960’s heralded in a very different kind of pop music, Starr focused on singing jazz with a great deal of success and the great Billie Holiday actually called her “the only white woman who could sing the blues.”
Her last recording was a duet with Tony Bennett in 2001, but besides all her singing dates Starr had been busy elsewhere and managed to get married 6 times.
Here’s a wonderful recording of Kay Starr singing one of her biggest hits The Wheel of Fortune in 1952. She is the epitome of chic singing her heart out, but heavens knows what those scantily clad chorus girls are meant to be doing behind her.
Kay Starr July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016 R.I.P.
