Mary Kaye (January 9, 1924 Detroit, Michigan – February 17, 2007 Las Vegas, Nevada) [1] was a guitarist and performer who was active from the 1940s through 1960s.In a 2003 interview for Vintage Guitar magazine, Mary Kaye (born Malia Ka'aihue) claimed to be descended from Hawaiian Queen Liliuokalani, through her father Johnny Ka?aihue (Johnny Ukulele) whom she claimed was "pure Hawaiian" and stated, "he was the son of Prince Kuhio, Queen Liliuokalani's younger brother." However, according to the genealogy Liliuokalani put in her biography, her brothers were King David Kalakaua and Prince William Pitt Leleiohoku II.
Neither Liliuokalani nor her brothers had any biological children.The Mary Kaye Trio is credited with founding the Las Vegas "lounge" phenomenon at the Last Frontier in 1953 : an all-night party atmosphere where stars and common folk rubbed elbows in a freewheeling environment.
Mary Kaye died in a Las Vegas hospital of pulmonary disease on February 17, 2007.
Her son Jay Kaye was also a musician.
At the age of 15, he put out his first LP, Suddenly One Summer in 1968.
Now a cult psychedelic album, it received little notice or airplay upon its release.