"Katherine Laverne Starks (July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016), known professionally as Kay Starr, was an American pop and jazz singer who enjoyed considerable success in the late 1940s and 1950s. She is best remembered for introducing two songs that became No. 1 hits ""Wheel of Fortune"" in 1951 and ""(The) Rock and Roll Waltz"" in 1955.

Starr was successful in every field of music she tried, such as jazz, pop, and country; but her roots were in jazz. Billie Holiday called her ""the only white woman who could sing the blues."""