Kay Kyser and His Orchestra

James Kern (“Kay”) Kyser (1905 – 1985) was a famous bandleader and one of the first to become a radio celebrity. He was the son of pharmacists Paul Bynum Kyser and Emily Royster Howell Kyser, and a cousin of Vermont C. Royster. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, his campus popularity and enthusiasm as a cheerleader caused him to be invited to join a commercial band being formed by other students. Although he started clarinet lessons, he was better as an entertaining announcer for the band than as a musician. He adopted the initial of his middle name as part of his stage name, for its alliterative effect. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.