Hi friends – welcome back to 50s Tunes with Steve - The best place to learn about, listen to, and snap along with some of the great artists of the 1950s.
With the upcoming Columbus/Indigenous Peoples’ holiday on the 11th, I figured it’d be nice to talk about an artist who comes from Iroquois Native American and Irish dissent – Kay Starr - a prominent female singer in the 50s.
So, please join me as we dive into the music of the star that shines so bright, Miss Kay Starr!
As always, links to the music are left throughout the blog, so click and listen as you read.
Background and Top Charting Hits
Starr was born in 1922 by the name Catherine Laverne Starks, on a reservation in Dougherty, Oklahoma.
She started her major singing career as a big band singer but had very little success.
In 1947 she signed on with Capitol Records, one of the greatest recording labels to ever exist, but like Patti Page, she had entered the big leagues right at the time when there was a strike in the music industry.
Being a new name in recording there wasn’t much music the label wanted her to record, as they were giving the songs they figured would be hits to well-known vocalists like Jo Stafford and Peggy Lee – due to the strike.
Come 1950, also like Patti Page, Starr decided to record a Pee Wee King song titled, “Bonaparte's Retreat.”
Kings’ version was written as a country song, but when Starr recorded it, she gave it a very jazzy flavor. Listen here – “Bonaparte’s Retreat” – Kay Starr
Starr sold nearly a million records on this song, bringing it all the way to #12 on the billboard year end top 30 singles of 1950.
That same year, Starr also recorded a song that I think many of you will recognize - “(Everybody's Waitin' for) The Man with the Bag.”
This song is considered one of the most iconic Christmas songs of all time, and a great success for her.
Finally with some wind in her sail, Starr continued recording, having a few minor hits in 1951, including a cover of Rosemary Clooney’s “Come on-a My House." But it was in 1952 that Starr had her shining moment and recorded the song that would become her first spinning gold record – “Wheel Of Fortune.”
Nowadays we think of “Wheel Of Fortune” as a gameshow hosted by Pat Sajak, but in 1952 it was the biggest pop tune to hit the charts, going all the way to #1 for 10 weeks and charting at #2 on the billboard year end top 30 singles of 1952.
Following this smash hit, Starr went onto become a well-known voice in the popular music industry, and recorded a few more lesser known hits that year, including “Comes A-Long A-Love” and “Fool, Fool, Fool.”
In 1953 Starr recorded a song written by Harry M. Woods in 1927 – a song that is now considered one of the great American Standards – “Side By Side.”
While “Side By Side” didn’t chart on the top 30 singles of the year, it did go to #3 for a few weeks, and it is also seen as one of the most recognizable songs of the era.
Come 1954 Starr made her return to the top 30 singles chart with a song titled “'If You Love Me (Really Love Me.)”
“If You Love Me” was a very special song for Starr as it was originally recorded and written by French performer, Édith Piaf, under the name, “Hymne à l'amour” meaning – “Ode to Love.”
According to Starr, Piaf had written the song to her lover, and requested Starr record a version of her own. Obviously, Starr kindly obliged, and her version went to #21 in the United States on the year end top 30 singles of 1954.
Later Career
In 1955 Starr left the Capitol label and signed on with RCA Victor – the first name in electronics.
If you recall from some of my previous blog posts, ’55 was the year Rock n Roll was beginning to seep through to the public, and pop stars were not performing on the charts nearly as well as they were at the beginning of the decade.
In 1956 Starr recorded a song that would tick off Rock n Roll artists nationwide – “The Rock and Roll Waltz.”
The song describes a young teenager walking through the front door and seeing their parents attempting to waltz to a Rock n Roll song that’s playing on the record player.
Starr’s “Rock and Roll Waltz” went to #1 for six weeks, becoming a million selling gold record.
It went to #10 on the billboard top 50 singles of 1956, ousting Elvis Presley’s “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You,” and “Love Me Tender” but falling short of out charting his songs “Heartbreak Hotel,” and “Don’t Be Cruel.”
“The Rock and Roll Waltz” was Starr’s last hit, and she never recorded anything that charted very high after that.
She left RCA Victor in 1959 and returned to Capitol for the second time but left them once again in 1966.
Starr recorded some Jazz albums as well as some Country albums for other labels, but never saw the success she had in the early 50s, again.
She died at the age of 94 in 2016.
That’s all for today!
Thanks for reading folks, I hope you enjoyed hearing these great tunes, and I hope maybe you’ll go out and listen to Miss Kay Starr yourself after hearing some of her music!
I hope you all have a nice long weekend, and a happy and safe Columbus/Indigenous Peoples’ day.
Until next time friends, this is your 50s music fanatic, Steven B. – signing off!