Lucille Starr

Born Lucille Marie Raymonde Savoie, Canadian singer, songwriter, and yodeler Lucille Starr stood among the country’s foremost country artists. Her path opened when she performed with the British Columbia choir Les Hirondelles, after which she became lead vocalist for the Keray Regan Band. She and bandmate Bob Regan eventually parted ways to tour the nation as the duo Lucille and Bob.

That partnership yielded several singles that found audiences on both sides of the border, among them “No Help Wanted.” Starr’s commanding voice and energetic stage presence soon caught the ear of label executives, one of whom gave the act the name Canadian Sweethearts. While based in California the pair appeared often on local country broadcasts and spent two years as regulars on ABC’s Country America. They also performed at the Grand Ole Opry and crisscrossed North America alongside Hank Snow, Wilf Carter, and Little Jimmy Dickens.

In 1963 both Starr and the Canadian Sweethearts joined the A&M roster; the group reached the Top 50 with “Hootenanny Express” and scored two major Canadian hits, one of them “Looking Back to See.” Striking out alone, Starr recorded the album The French Cut with producer Herb Alpert, whose Tijuana Brass supplied the backing. Its title track rose to the top of the charts, and the set generated five additional hits. The Canadian Sweethearts traveled to Nashville in 1967 for sessions produced by Billy Sherrill. Starr continued to appear on the charts through the mid-1970s. She dissolved the Sweethearts partnership in 1977 and released the solo album The Sun Shines Again, which enjoyed solid sales. Her follow-up, Back to You, performed strongly in Canada and delivered three hits, one of them a number one.