- She was the first person to ever have a guitar named after her the Fender Mary Kaye Stratocaster.
- She was a Hawaiian guitarist and singer who had her own trio; the other musicians were her older brother Norman Kaye and Frank Ross. They began playing at Las Vegas' Frontier casino-hotel in the 1950s. They recorded 13 albums, and played on four movie soundtracks.
- She and her brother originally played in their father's band. He was known as Johnny Ukulele. Musical differences split her from the group and she formed her first trio which included husband and bass player Jules Pursley.
- Released a dozen albums before the group broke up in 1966. Mary continued solo.
- Mary played guitar; brother Norman was on bass; and Frank Ross was the group's comedian and sometime accordionist.
- Is a descendant of Queen Liliuokalani, Hawaii's last reigning monarch.
- Jazz singer/musician.
- Grandniece of Queen Liliuokalani.
- Children: Jeffrey, Donna, Jaye.
- Mother died when she was 3.
- Vegas' first "lounge act", she introduced the word "lounge" into the lexicon of Las Vegas shows with her all-night, dusk-to-dawn performances on the strip's secondary stages. The trio worked an average 36 weeks a year, often at the Sahara and Tropicana hotels.
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