Posted on 11/04/2016 10:59:29 AM PDT by Borges
Kay Starr, the self-described hillbilly singer who crisscrossed jazz, country, pop, blues and rock n roll in the 1950s with hits like Wheel of Fortune and Rock and Roll Waltz, died on Thursday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 94.
The cause was complications of Alzheimers disease, her daughter and only immediate survivor, Katherine Yardley, said.
Ms. Starr, whose career began when she was a teenager and continued into her 80s, was a rarity: a singer who blossomed in the big-band era of the 1930s and 1940s, hit it big as a pop and country artist, and scored one of her biggest hits in the emerging rock scene of the mid-1950s.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I remember her. When I was growing up, my parents controlled the radio and the station they listened to played the kind of music Kay Starr sang. I am not complaining — that exposure helped me to appreciate music outside of rock. RIP.
A sad loss - you can find her popular recordings on YouTube but when looking for one to post on this thread as a tribute I found the one below. How fortunate she was to be this vibrant and able to still sing just 2 years ago at age 92!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upW6UYlPBaU
RIP Miss Starr, you were one of the true greats.
The Wheel of Fortune
https://youtu.be/JgELNz5YDUs
Lovely voice
My in-laws (WWII generation) were Big Band fans and that’s how I learned of Kay Starr. Great voice. RIP.
Growing up, my parents had a copy of Wheel of Fortune that got played quite frequently.
So true. The ranks of the greatest generation is becoming evermore thin.
May she RIP.
94 years....longer than a good many get.
Talented singer. RIP.
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