Catherine Annette Hanshaw (October 18, 1901 – March 13, 1985) was an American Jazz Age singer.

She was one of the most popular radio stars of the late 1920s and early 1930s, with many of her most notable performances taking place on NBC's Maxwell House Show Boat.

[5] Her aunt and uncle, Nellie McCoy and Bob "Uke" Hanshaw, were vaudeville performers.

[1] Hanshaw aspired to be a portrait painter, studying at the National School of Design for a year.

[2] Before recording, Hanshaw sang on local radio stations while visiting Florida with her family.

Although most were released under Hanshaw's name, she was renamed Gay Ellis for sentimental numbers, and Dot Dare or Patsy Young for her Helen Kane impersonations.

She recorded under a number of other pseudonyms, including Ethel Bingham, Marion Lee, Janet Shaw and Lelia Sandford.

[5] Some of the artists whose solos were featured on her recordings were Red Nichols, Miff Mole, Phil Napoleon, Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang, Adrian Rollini, Vic Berton, Benny Goodman, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, and Jack Teagarden.

From 1932 to 1934, she was featured on the popular Thursday evening radio program Maxwell House Show Boat.

She made her only appearance on film in the 1933 Paramount short Captain Henry's Radio Show.

Hanshaw's singing style was relaxed and suited to the jazz-influenced pop music of the late 1920s and early 1930s.

"[9] Hanshaw's favorite singers were Marion Harris, Sophie Tucker, and Blossom Seeley.