Singer Kay Starr died at the spry age of 94.
Starr will be remembered for the two number one hits, “Wheel of Fortune,” about a plucky game show host and is non-aging partner and “The Rock And Roll Waltz,” which is less rock and roll and more like the song playing in a Martin Scorsese scene set in the 50s.
Kay became a local radio sensation at age seven and eventually had her own 15-minute show twice a week, earning $3 a performance. Child labor laws aside, $3 was a hell of a sum of money in the Depression. [You capitalize Depression when talking about the economic downturn of the 30s, right?] That converts to a little over $44 in pre-President-Trump dollars. [Post-President-Trump dollars: it converts back to $3.00. Vote next Tuesday!]
Her family moved to Memphis, TN. This move depressed Kay because there was no music scene in Memphis. Historically, Memphis has been a musical vacuum that can only be
Really? Me? I died?
compared to Nashville. Now, Schenectady! That was a swingin’ place.
Despite the lack of a music scene in town, she still managed to keep up gigs and performing on the radio. At 15, she was chosen to sing with the Joe Venuti orchestra. Not to be anti-Italian, but there is no way that a bandleader named Venuti was 100% legit. That’s like saying that a guy named McFeeley is sober.
In order to escape the iron fist of Don Vanuti, she moved to Los Angeles and signed with Wingy Manone’s band because she always wanted to work with someone named “Wingy.” Honestly, who wouldn’t. I’m knida hopin’ that HR puts out an ad looking to hire anyone based on the name “Wingy.”
As a bonus, Manone was also the inventor of the chicken wing (hence, the name), so Kay was lousy with wings! Unfortunately, Buffalo sauce would not be invented for another twenty years.
One of her biggest hits was her version of “(Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man with the Bag”, a Christmas song that quickly became a holiday favorite. This song is awesome and if you do not own a copy, her’s is frickin’ sweet.
This hit goes to: Babysitter! It’s his first hit this year! [Really? Man, he sucks.] This gives him a firm 10 points, a mere 210 points behind the leader. Will his list get massacred in the next day and a half? If so, I’ll have to investigate before awarding points….
Happy pooling,
SPMI
Draft night is TOMORROW! So exciting!
Current Standings:
Occupy the Casket: 220 – (Natalie Cole – 40, Vanity – 50, Boutros Boutros-Ghali – 10, Geoffrey Eglinton – 20, Addie Fausett – 100)
Jami: 210 – (Scott Weiland – 60, Pat Harrington, Jr. – 20, Umberto Eco – 20, Rob Ford – 60, Erik Bauersfeld – 10, Edward Albee – 20, Chris Sizemore – 20)
Tailgating w/ Jesus: 140 (Dolph Schayes – 20, Meadowlark Lemon – 20, Monte Irvin – 10, Muhammad Ali – 30, Pat Summitt – 40, Buddy Ryan – 20)
Joanne: 130 (Joey Feek – 60, Joe Garagiola – 10, Julius La Rosa – 20, Buckwheat Zydeco – 40)
Lee Kwang-Soo (Giraffe): 130- (Daniel Fleetwood – 70, Abe Vigoda – 10, Nancy Fucking Reagan! – 10!, George Martin – 10, Elie Wiesel – 20, Mike “Mighty Atom, Jr.” Greenstein – 10)
Occupy the Casket: 120 – (Natalie Cole – 40, Vanity – 50, Boutros Boutros-Ghali – 10, Geoffrey Eglinton – 20)
The Girl on Fire: 120 (Wayne Rogers – 20, René Angélil – 30, George Gaynes – 10, James Noble – 10, Doris Roberts – 10, Marni Nixon – 20, Fyvush Finkel – 10, Steven Hill – 10)
Gianna: 110 (Robert Stigwood – 20, Lois Duncan – 20, Herschell Gordon Lewis – 20, Pete Burns – 50)
Harmony: 100 (Harper Lee – 20, George Kennedy – 10, Frank Sinatra, Jr. – 30, Gene Wilder – 20, Arnold Palmer – 20)
Team Sushi: 80 (Chyna, aka Joanie Laurer – 60, Morley Safer – 20)
Imaginary Steve: 60 – (King Bhumibol Adulyadej – 20, 谢家麟 – 10, 劉令名 – 30)
Mostly Mike: 60 (Marvin Minsky – 20, Mihaly “Michu” Meszaros – 30, Janet Waldo – 10)
Age of Aquarius: 60 (William Guest – 30, Merle Haggard – 30)
Nathaniel: 50 (Alan Young – 10, Kenny Baker – 20, Glenn Yarbrough – 20)
Mortician’s Daughter: 50 – (Justice Antonin Scalia – 30, Bud Collins – 20)
Babysitter: 10 – (Kay Starr – 10)
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