Dean Kay (born June 21, 1940) is a US American entertainer, recording artist, songwriter and music publishing executive.
[2] While a student at San Jose State University, he began his professional career as a featured entertainer alongside singing partner Hank Jones on the five-day-a-week daytime Tennessee Ernie Ford Show[2] from San Francisco.
[3] As a songwriter he laid out songs for many top recording artists, including "That's Life"[4] for Frank Sinatra.
[5] He served as the chief operating officer (COO) for Lawrence Welk's music publishing companies for 18 years.
Throughout his career, he has played a key role in safe guarding the creative legacies of[clarification needed] Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Cole Porter, Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Johnny Horton, Don Williams, Bob McDill, Wayland Holyfield, Ricky Skaggs, Rick Springfield and many others.