Artist:Kay StarrSong:Wheel Of Fortune
Album:Capitol Collectors Series
Kay Starr started out as a jazz singer in the 40s and became a pop singer in the pre-Rock 'N' Roll era of the early 50s. Wheel Of Fortune was one of her two number one hits in 1952. Her career faded in the late 50s and she still performs today. She was born Katherine Laverne Starks July 21, 1922 in Dougherty, OK. Her father was a full blooded Iroquois. The family moved to Dallas when her father got a job installing sprinkler systems. They raised chickens on their farm. Her aunt heard 7 year old Kay serenading the chickens and took her to a local radio station. By age 10, she had her own show. When her dad changed jobs, the family moved to Memphis and Kay continued to sing on the radio. Her name was changed to Kay Starr because Starks was frequently misspelled in fan mail. Kay's big break came when jazz violin legend Joe Venuti needed a girl singer for a show in Memphis. She toured with Venuti until he disbanded the band in 1942. She also had brief runs with Bob Crosby and Glenn Miller. She moved to Los Angeles in 1943 and spent two years with Charlie Barnet's band. She took a break when she had problems with her voice. But she returned to Barnet in 1946 and signed with Capitol Records in 1947. Capitol had several female singers under contract at the time. So Kay was not getting the choice material. She had some success especially with some duets she recorded with Tennessee Ernie Ford. But she finally reached the top of the charts with Wheel Of Fortune in 1952. Wheel Of Fortune was written by Benny Benjamin and George David Weiss who had written several songs together. It was a top ten R & B hit for The Cardinals in 1951 and it appears that the producers of Kay Starr's version used that arrangement. That was done frequently in the 50s. Kay left Capitol for RCA in 1955 and had her second number one hit with Rock & Roll Waltz in 1955. Kay Starr's career had faded by the late 50s and her return to Capitol didn't help. Her two big hits are on this comp. She recorded occasionally but mostly played Vegas and toured. She still performs today. Like Rosemary Clooney, she became more of a jazz singer. Here's Kay Starr performing Wheel Of Fortune. I think this might be from a 50s NBC show called Oasis. This video is not on Youtube.
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