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Kay Davis was born Katherine McDonald on December 5, 1920 in Evanston, Illinois. She studied voice and piano at Northwestern University, earning bachelor and master’s degrees.

In 1944 Kay joined Duke Ellington’s orchestra, singing alongside Joya Sherrill and Al Hibbler. She is best known for her wordless vocals in pieces such as “Transblucency” and “On a Turquoise Cloud” but also sang many lyrical compositions and is the only person Ellington ever allowed to reprise Adelaide Hall’s famous wordless vocal on “Creole Love Call”.

Although she never recorded as a solo artist, Davis’ tenure with Ellington’s band coincided with their increasing exposure on film, especially for Universal Pictures. She performed with Billy Strayhorn on the very first performance of his composition “Lush Life” at Carnegie Hall in 1948, though he wrote the song in the Thirties.

Kay toured England with Ellington alongside Ray Nance in 1948 and two years later with the full orchestra throughout Europe. In 1950 vocalist Kay Davis left the Ellington organization, got married and retired to Florida. After a long and full life, the vocalist passed away on January 27, 2012 in Apopka, Florida.

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