Jay Kaye

Jay Kaye was an American singer, guitarist, and composer. Born 1953 in Saint Louis, Missouri, but raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. Died February 9, 2015 (age of 61) in Spain from terminal brain cancer. He was the son of Mary Kaye and grandson of Johnny "Ukulele" Kaaihue. He started his first band “Jay Kaye and the Loved Ones” at 12 years old, and later met producer Robin Spurgin when visiting Vancouver, British Columbia with his mother, with whom he stayed to produce [m12537] at the age of 15. By 1970 he was living near Los Angeles, California and playing with the semi-pro band The Rush Hour, which opened for Jethro Tull and Led Zeppelin. In the '70s he fronted the L.A. band Shotgun and also recorded with the blues-based power trio Champion (7) and 7-piece funk-rock band Masterplan (9). He also performed with The Imperials in Las Vegas and Matt Sorum. In 1985 he moved to Cardiff, Wales, and then to Mallorca, Spain in 1987, where he founded The Jay Kay Band.