Kay Starr

Kay Starr (born July 21, 1922) is an American jazz and popular singer.

She was born Katherine Laverne Starks on a reservation in Dougherty, Oklahoma. Her father, Harry, was a full-blooded Iroquois Indian; her mothe

Kay Starr (born July 21, 1922) is an American jazz and popular singer.

She was born Katherine Laverne Starks on a reservation in Dougherty, Oklahoma. Her father, Harry, was a full-blooded Iroquois Indian; her mother, Annie, was of mixed Irish and American Indian heritage. When her father got a job installing water sprinkler systems, the family moved to Dallas, Texas. As a result of the fact that her aunt, Nora, was impressed by her singing, she began to sing at the age of seven on a Dallas radio station, WRR, first in a talent competition where she finished third one week and won every week thereafter, then with her own weekly 15-minute show. She sang pop and "hillbilly" songs with a piano accompaniment. By the age of 10, she was making $3 a night, a lot of money in the Depression days.