Kay Starr Country

Kay Starr dabbled in country music throughout her career, on albums like Just Plain Country, and the hit singles "Foolin' Around" and "Four Walls," but all of those recordings had very pop-oriented arrangements. With Kay Starr Country, Starr finally made a straight country album with hard country songs, and hillbilly instrumentation. "Blue Grass" is an ode to bluegrass music and features a banjo, and "Frankie & Johnnie" (a humorous variation on the traditional tune) is performed as a duet with Western swing star Tex Williams. The album was produced by Cliffie Stone, who worked with Starr during her Capitol years, and whose country music credentials are legendary. Starr doesn't entirely leave her pop fans hanging — the song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" was an enormous pop hit that year, although the country accompaniment (which includes, again, a banjo) on Starr's version links it with the surrounding tracks. Kay Starr Country is one of Starr's last albums, and a fun departure for the veteran pop vocalist.