Born Katherine Laverne Starks in Dougherty, Oklahoma in 1922, Kay Starr sang with the swing-era big bands of Joe Venuti and Charlie Barnet before going solo, bringing a rougher, more R&B-inflected belt to pop hits like 1952's 'Wheel of Fortune' than many of her more polished contemporaries. That gutsier, blues-leaning delivery made her a transitional figure between big-band pop and the rock and roll that followed. She kept performing into her later years and died in 2016.

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1952

Wheel of FortuneKay Starr