The Kay Starr Appreciation Thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Ridin'High, Nov 3, 2016.

  1. Ridin'High

    Ridin'High Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    You're welcome, and belated thanks to you, too, .crystalised, for the nice photos & clips.

    Well, time to start. My plan is to first provide a biography of Kay's early days (before she became a big band singer), and then to move through the various phases of her music career, from the big band days, through key singles & albums on Capitol and Victor, to the music of her later years.

    The short bio is naturally going to rely on the tools or sources available to me -- liner notes, interviews on YouTube, the writings of critics such as Gary Giddins and Will Friedwald, and any online accounts that might not be a repetition of what is already in those other sources. (I'll try to use my own words, but I thought only fair to acknowledge where the information is generally coming from, rather than taking credit for other people's work.) :)

    If this or any upcoming posts prove of of interest, consider clicking on the "like" button, so that I can know that I'm not just "talking to myself" (or maybe I should say, in Kay's honor, "humming to myself")!

     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2016
  2. Ridin'High

    Ridin'High Forum Resident Thread Starter


    IN THE BEGINNING


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    "I was born in Oklahoma, raised in Texas, and settled in Tennessee." That's La Starr's own capsule review of her whereabouts during the first 17 or 18 years of her life (1922-1939), of which the first three were spent in Dougherty, the next ten or so in constant move from Texan town to Texan town, and the remainder in Memphis.




    Oklahoma

    This Oklahoman hill-Billie was primarily of Native-American heritage: full-blooded Iroquois on her father's side (Harry S., aka Asa) and of Cherokee, Choctaw and Irish descent on her mother's side (Annie, 1905-1994). Katherine was Asa and Annie's only offspring; the father worked at a sprinkler installment company (at first probably as an installer, later on as a foreman), the mother at the Work Progress Administration and, of course, at home as a housewife. Asa (1894-1965) might have been born at a reservation. (The press often reported that Kay had been born there as well, but that bit of information was incorrect.) For most of her lifetime, Annie appears to have remained an influential voice in her daughter's career.

    Although Katherine was only three when her parents left Dougherty with her, she kept ties to the tiny rural town (population: 400 in 1922, down to 215 in the present decade). Other relatives remained in place, and she visited them over the years. Both of her parents were buried in Dougherty's cemetery, too. Dougherty was of course proud to claim the artist as their own. In typically humorous fashion, Kay made the following comment for a 1995 interview: "I just came back from Oklahoma. They named -- well, they said, a street -- after me. But in my hometown we don't have any streets. We've got the highway, and there's a road that goes out the highway to Dougherty, Oklahoma. That's where I was born. And that's where they are going to give me the road, rather than street. And now they call it Kay Starr Trails. But the road they were [originally] going to name after me went from the highway, right through Dougherty, right straight to the cemetery. And I said, I don't believe that I want that named after me. Ha, ha, ha! So now they've got a trail that goes right over the railroad tracks."

    (Here are two current views of the Kay Starr Trail, which apparently continues from Dougherty all the way to the countryside of the largest town in the area, Davis.)

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    Last edited: Dec 20, 2016
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  3. Ridin'High

    Ridin'High Forum Resident Thread Starter


    Texas

    Even back when she was eight or nine years old and living in the Texan countryside, Kay had a talent for holding an audience captive. At that time, her venue of choice was the henhouse. Yes, that's right: she started out her performing career by singing for the hens, cocks, and chicks that her mother was raising, and which had no choice but to listen, while perched and getting ready to sleep. The henhouse's multi-tiered perch doubled as an (amphi)theatre where the audience rested and was serenaded for free -- range not allowed, though.

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    Ever the supremely comfortable performer, Kay would sit in front of her audience on an apple box. While singing, she would also make use of the box as a playing instrument. The audience's verdict: total interest and approval, which they expressed by cocking their heads all throughout the performance. (No, they did not lay any eggs on account of their enraptured listening ... If anyone did, it probably was the still young and tenderfooted Kay.) Fifty years later, Kay would still be claiming that this was the best audience that she ever had. especially because not one of them ever sassed her! (She was kidding, of course -- about them being her best audience. And I bet that there were some sassy ones amidst that crowd, too.)

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    [Disclaimer: The events depicted in the photos above are true. However, the individuals who experienced them were not available for any photo shots, and all the scenes have been re-enacted. No remuneration was offered to the hens for their voluntary act of striking poses while caught on camera. No animals were harmed during my making of this post.]

    Though charmed by Katherine's ingeniosity, the girl's parents thought of her henhouse spectacles as nothing more than cock-a-doodle-doo. It was instead the girl's aunt, Nora, that recognized those debut concerts as incipient displays of talent. It took a lot of arguing and a long time before Nora finally managed to talk Mr. and Mrs. Starks into having Katherine enter the weekly local amateur talent contest, held in downtown Dallas at the (now demolished) Melba Theatre. In her later years, Kay gave to understand that she had entered the competition with the following tune (heard here in a version sung by Beatrice Kay, but originally popularized by Eddie Cantor):

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    Ah, but the ten-year-old girl did not limit herself to just wailing about potatoes and tomatoes: Katherine's performance involved singing while simultaneously spinning a yo-yo up and down.

    She won third place.

    Little Katherine re-entered the same amateur contest the following Saturday, and for weeks on ends thereafter, performing the same song every time, and invariably getting first place on each occasion -- until the holders of the contest asked her to please retire. There you go: Kay went into retirement before she had reached the age of 10!

    Well, it was actually a semi-retirement. Sponsored by WWR-Dallas, the contest offered as its first prize a 15-minute show, to be broadcast thrice a week at that station. For her radio show, the chantecleering chanteuse sang numbers such as "Mother Put my Little Shoes Away," and other such hillbilly gems. Soon she was also receiving requests to sing the likes of "Wreck on the Highway."
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2016
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  4. Ridin'High

    Ridin'High Forum Resident Thread Starter


    Tennessee

    Triggered by Mr. Starks' job, a move from Texas to Tennessee did not put a stop to her radio career. In Memphis (1935), the teen promptly grabbed her own radio show at WMPS and/or WREC (eventually to be given the name Starr Time), as well as a spot on the station's Saturday Night Jamboree. The producers of that program took to assigning to her most of the audience's song requests. Most everybody at the station took to referring to the thirteen year old as "the kid." (No, not Cisca the Kid. Just the kid.) In addition to singing, the ever-versatile Katherine also tap-danced on the air. Earning a $3.00 salary for her efforts, the kid must have made her parents felt not only proud but also relieved that they were enjoying an extra income, those being the tough years of the Depression era.

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    [No, that's not Kay in the photo. It's Shirley Temple. Placed here merely to illustrate the point being made, since I know of no equivalent photo of Kay from this early period.]

    As incoming fan mail started to pour in, the folks at the station came to the realization that little Miss Katherine Starks was facing her first career crisis: those darn silly fans could never spell her last name right! They would call her Miss Stairs, Staunch, Stokes, Starch, and Stonks. Kay herself had had it, especially after receiving fan mail addressing her as Miss Stinks. It was thus decided then and there: henceforth Katherine "the Kid" Starks would be known only as Miss Kay Star.

    I take that back: it wasn't quite decided then and there. Turns out that her parents didn't like the change of name. Her father, in particular, objected to having her kid being called a Star, feeling that only the Supreme Divinity could make stars. (Mr. and Mrs. Starks were no Hollywood folks, clearly.) Eventually, Katherine herself came up with the idea of adding an R to the last name, to everybody's relief and approval. So, this second time around, it was for good: from then on, little Katherine La Verne Starks became the fabulous Miss Kay Star.

    And with that, little Miss Starks was ready to conquer the rest of the world, after acquiring a new name.

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    TO BE CONTINUED
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2016
  5. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    Ha. I was half-expecting to see the Mad Men actress in this clip. Betty is my favourite.
     
  6. cmcb

    cmcb Forum Resident

    I recently discovered KS and I'm really blown away by what I'm hearing from her 50s Capitol recordings. I've been buying all I can find in record shops but I can't find any info on "SONGS FOR STAGS", a 10" from 1950 that I recently purchased.

    It was apparently was withdrawn from sale (at her manager's demand) and rereleased as SONGS BY KAY STARR. Anyone have more information? Discogs seems to be unaware of the release.
     
    Last edited: Jan 2, 2017
  7. Ridin'High

    Ridin'High Forum Resident Thread Starter


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    You are in the possession of what amounts to a limited pressing, and thus a rare collectible. About 15,000 copies of Songs for Stags were pressed and released before they were recalled.

    But you seem to be already aware of the main details pertaining to this subject matter, Cmb. All the same, let's talk about it.

    The year was 1950 and Capitol was finally issuing its first Kay Starr album, three years after she had officially joined the label. Since the chosen ditties bore titles such as "You've Got to See Mama Every Night," "Ya Gotta Buy Buy Buy for Baby," and "Steady Daddy," it is not surprising that Capitol thought of Songs for Stags as a suitable phrase. At that time, the term "stag" was colloquially used to refer to a male, in particular if said male was a willing and able bachelor. In some minds, the term might have also carried off-color associations. Back in the 19th century, bachelor parties were called "stag parties," and pornographic performances were known as "stag shows." Kay's presumed dislike of the title chosen for the album is thus understandable.

    Objections were raised by her manager at the time (Hal Stanley), on the grounds that the title "would lead to damaging misunderstanding." (One year later, Stanley would go on to become the third of la Starr's five husbands.) Capitol professed full innocence and purity of thought, protesting that the word "stag" had been meant merely as a synonym of "male." And perhaps it had. See how the context in which the word appears on the back cover of the original issue; see also how it was substituted in the reissue:


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    The above-given facts are taken from Billboard's description of the argument, as reported on the magazine's June 3, 1950 issue. Billboard further declared that, "just to keep everybody happy," Capitol had graciously decided to re-release the album under the new and "bland" title Kay Starr Sings. [Sic: Songs by Kay Starr.] Left unmentioned is the fact that Kay's contract was up for renewal on the following month. Since she had already given the label five hits, including two major recent ones, I imagine that Capitol was invested in making both singer and manager happy. (Not necessarily an easy task. This was not the first time that she had complained or objected to a label decision.)

    In any case, the album was re-released as Songs by Kay Starr in 1950. The 10" LP has a total of eight tracks, but the other configuration exists in two versions, one consisting of three 45-rpm discs totaling six songs, another containing two EP discs totaling eight songs. There is also a 12" LP version, which came out in 1955. It ups the count to twelve.

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    Last edited: Jan 3, 2017
  8. John B Good

    John B Good Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    NS, Canada
    "By Gad, sir, you are a character. There's never any telling what you'll say or do next, except that it's bound to be something astonishing."
     
  9. cmcb

    cmcb Forum Resident

     
  10. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    Fascinating. Capitol may have declared innocence, but the removal of four little words that painted a succulent picture on the album's back cover definitely implies guilt:

    [Kay's] good-natured admonition to "take it steady, Daddy!" is sure to bring howls from the back room.

    What sort of club do the Capitol bosses place her at? And what is going on in the back room?

    Some folks still use the term "stag" for bachelor parties in Canada. The title strikes me as odd, but not necessarily objectionable. The label's reluctance to change the title is surprising, since Capitol marketing staff of the era were perfectly content to use bland titles for other artists. It's the back cover that annoys me, and perhaps that description is what set Kay to swingin', too.

    I suspect there was more to the story than what is described in Billboard's assessment of the situation.
     
    Last edited: Jan 3, 2017
  11. Ridin'High

    Ridin'High Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Very interesting points. Thanks also for letting me know about the use of the term "stag party" in Canada. I was wondering about that; I have barely ever heard the word in conversation, even as a synonym for deer (let alone in the other sense). But maybe this is a matter of lack of personal experience on my part, and/or a matter of the suburban region of the United States where I live. Can anyone in the US let me know if people still use the word "stag" to mean a male (or a bachelor)?


    You are quite welcome. (And yes, I suspected that it was you, but didn't want to presume. Thanks for the confirmation.)

    By the way, I just re-read my original response, and noticed that I made a factual error. I referred to Hal Stanley as Kay's third husband, whom she married the year after the events that were being discussed. Well, yes and no. She did marry her third husband toward the end of that year (1951), but the groom in question was Vic Schoen. As for Stanley, he was her second husband (and, yes, career manager), to whom she was reportedly married from 1948 to mid-1951. (In other words, he was married to the woman when he launched the complaint against her album. He obviously had more than one vested interest in the prospect of having a wife who was wont to record "songs for stags.")

    It's not the first time that I have made this mistake. Those two husbands get mixed up in my mind because both were in the music business, and one came in line right after the other ... Also, Kay's whole married history confuses me. When it came to giving out public details about the total number of times she got married, the lady tended to be cagey.

    What's more, I'm not totally certain that the grand total was five: I've seen plenty of references to a sixth man, being also identified as her husband.

    Hey, the more the merrier!
    o_O
    Or maybe not.


    Gee, that's quite flattering, much obliged. :targettiphat: Suddenly I'm getting the urge to go out and buy a tweed jacket along with a smoking pipe. But I better resist. Should I go out to get that, you bet I'll be nervously looking right and left with the corner of my eye, afraid that Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet might be lurking somewhere, ready to kidnap me and ask for my record collection in ransom!
    :cool:
     
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2017
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  12. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    I wonder if "stag" used to describe a bachelor might have originated as British slang. If so, that would explain its use in Canada and probably other commonwealth countries. The first sentence of the Wikipedia page for "bachelor parties" certainly implies that it finds its origins there: A bachelor party, also known as a stag party, stag night, stag do, stag weekend (in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth countries, and Ireland), or a buck's night (in Australia) is a party held for a man shortly before he enters marriage, to celebrate his "last night of freedom".

    And, Merriam-Webster records two definitions for the use of "stag" as an adjective, the first definition having two variants:

    Definition of stag (adjective)

    1. a : restricted to men <a stag party>, b : intended for a male audience; especially : pornographic <stag movies>

    The first variant is likely what Capitol had in mind, while the second is how Mr. Stanley interpreted its meaning.

    :shh: :biglaugh:
     
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  13. jtaylor

    jtaylor Senior Member

    Location:
    RVA
    Kay getting a little love from @Capitol Vaults. Seen here with Glenn Wallichs in 1959.

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  14. jlrchrds

    jlrchrds Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midwest
    Wow, I just opened my Mosaic Classic Capital Jazz Sessions. I just noticed Kay Starr's picture (Capital Head Shot) from the 1940s and my mouth dropped. If that isn't classic beauty, I don't know what is! HUBBA HUBBA. Jeff
     
  15. Ridin'High

    Ridin'High Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    I am momentarily coming back to this long-neglected thread because yesterday (July 21) was Kay's birthdate, and the occasion deserves commemoration!

    I also think that the young Kay was a beautiful woman, with "classically appealing" facial features. (Busty, too.) Both publicity photos and candids of the day make her beauty more than evident. Curiously, Kay's physical attractiveness was rarely ever mentioned by the press ... Now, admittedly, height tends to be a measure of beauty in some quarters (it shouldn't be, if you ask me), and I do not believe that Kay filled the statuesque bill. But you know what? Most of these singers that some folks drool over were quite petite. You look at Julie London's photos and you imagine an Amazonian. Instead, she was actually 5'2" (and even that height could be slightly enhanced). No matter: great beauties all of them, all the same. (Besides, "petite" is also an ideal of beauty, at least for females.)

    Do check (or re-check) the great photos that .crystalised. posted on the first page. Here are a few more:

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    For good measure, let me also add here a pic that I should probably save for Halloween, but am instead posting well in advance:

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    Close-ups of Kay's face around the 2:00 mark:

     
    Last edited: Jul 22, 2017
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  16. Jim Brooks

    Jim Brooks New Member

    Location:
    Aberdeen, Scotland
    I discovered Kay round about 1963, when her remake of "I'll never be free" was released in the UK on a single. The moment I heard that soulful, emotion-drenched thoroughly bluesy voice, I knew she was THE singer for me, and not many days have passed since then that didn't include a track or two of Kay's vibrant, life-affirming singing. Obviously I need to read through all the previous contributions to this wonderful site before I contribute anything that would be worthwhile, but meantime here are a couple of studio portraits of Kay that she never used. The earlier one dates from about 1960 and was take by Wally Seawell, for many years Kay's photographer of choice. The later one is from the 1980s, at the timeKay was singing with Four Girls Four. Lovely shots - hope you like them!
    KAY STARR
    KAY STARR
     
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  17. kennyluc1

    kennyluc1 Frank Sinatra collector

    I've never seen the picture of Kay, and, Sinatra together. Very Nice.
     
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  18. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    I just bought a MINT pressing of "Blue Starr" from a local shop, and it blew me away. This is a blues record done right, and I believe it's the finest, most effective and cohesive blues album from a popular singer that I've ever heard. My introduction to Kay was her Capitol years, so I'm still new to the Victor stuff. This album in particular features some of the finest vocal performances Kay has graced upon my ears. "It's Funny To Everyone But Me" and "Just Like A Butterfly" are my highlights, but there isn't one stinker in the lot. The front side is short by one tune to make room for an epic version of "I Really Don't Want To Know" that just sits and smoulders the whole way through. And the ending of "Blue And Sentimental" just melts like butter on hotcakes. The male chorus brings a soulful prescence to the album, and the arrangements are solid. The mastering of the pressing is excellent, with clear highs and warm lows and a holographic mono sound with depth and dynamics. Highly recommended.

    Also, I recently acquired a copy of "Rockin' With Kay" and I enjoy that one too. I seem to be less enthusiastic about the RCA singles but it's clear that a lot of thought and effort went into the programming of her albums for the label. I wonder if Kay herself was consulted, or given some measure of control over the album selections because the programming fits like a glove.
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2017
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  19. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff

    I like Blue Starr a lot. Aside from the songs you mentioned, I also dig "The House is Haunted (by the Echo of Your Last Goodbye." (What could have Sinatra and Riddle have done with that on Only the Lonely, eh?)

    I agree that "I Really Don't Want to Know" is a home run. Great performance.
     
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  20. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    Ha. "Haunted" didn't move me as much as the other selections (although my greyhound wanted to play tug at that moment, so I must confess that performance didn't have my full attention). I thought the arrangement was loud and busy, and it's the only track that allows the male chorus to get in the way and distract from Kay. I agree that it would be a great song for Only The Lonely, or even Wee Small Hours or especially No One Cares. I hear Jenkins not Riddle when I consider the possibility, but either would be exquisite.
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2017
  21. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff

    Here's one that I didn't know about until I spotted it at Music Millennium in Portland today:
    MI0002136450.jpg MI0001242346.jpg
    The voice is ragged and older, but she was still one heck of a singer!

    @.crystalised. -- see what track 11 is???? :)
     
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  22. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
    This is on my want list now. How's the sound quality and recording?
     
  23. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff

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  24. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff

    I apparently have selective eyesight, as I did not notice until now that the recording engineer is none other than Malcolm Addey, whose name appears in the credits (transfer, mastering, mixing, etc.) of so many re-releases by "classic singers" like Nat King Cole.
     
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  25. .crystalised.

    .crystalised. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Edmonton
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