Born in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she attended George Westinghouse High School and studied music at the Filion School of Music in Pittsburgh. Later she performed regularly in the Hill District, a jazz hotspot, as a vocalist with the Joe Westray Orchestra, a popular Pittsburgh orchestra. She next spent several years in the nightclub circuit in such cities as Detroit, Indianapolis, Cleveland and St. Louis. While in New York, she was noticed singing at a Harlem nightclub called the Baby Grand by Dave Cavanaugh, a producer for Capitol Records. She was signed and released several singles, her success leading her to win Down Beat magazine's "Most Promising Newcomer" award in 1955. In 1958, Staton wed Talib Dawud, a black Antigua-born Ahmadi Muslim trumpeter and noted critic of Elijah Muhammad. She subsequently converted to Islam and used the name Aliyah Rabia for some time. The marriage ultimately ended in divorce.
She released several critically acclaimed albums in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including: The Late, Late Show (1957), whose title track was her biggest hit, In the Night (1957), a collaboration with pianist George Shearing, Dynamic! (1958) and Dakota at Storyville (1961), a live album recorded at the Storyville jazz club in Boston. In the mid-1960s Staton moved to England, where she recorded the album Dakota ′67. Returning to the US in the early 1970s, she continued to record semi-regularly, her recordings taking an increasingly strong gospel and blues influence. She suffered a stroke in 1999, after which her health deteriorated. Staton died in New York City aged 76 in 2007.
I Could Make You Care
Dakota Staton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If only you'd let me!
I could make you care,
You'd never forget me!
I can't resist,
I'd be a fool to try.
I know if once we kissed,
I knew this was love
The moment I found you,
So I planned my life,
It's built all around you!
Give me this chance,
Darling if you only would,
I could make you care,
I know I could!
Dakota Staton's "I Could Make You Care" is a love song that centers around the singer's willingness to make someone care for her. It starts with her insisting that she can make her love interest care for her if she's given the chance. This is because she knows that if the person really gets to know her and lets her in, they would not forget her. The singer goes on to explain that she's incapable of resisting the person and believes that if they kissed, her heart would be lost forever.
From her perspective, she knew that she had found love the moment she found her love interest in her life. Her life, goals and everything else were built and planned around the person she fell in love with. She pleads with the person to give her a chance to show them that she can make them care about her. The song speaks to the power of love and the lengths that someone will go to win the affection of the one that they love.
Line by Line Meaning
I could make you care
I have the power to make you care about me and our relationship.
If only you'd let me!
But you are not allowing me to do so, which is frustrating.
You'd never forget me!
If you let me make you care, I would become an unforgettable part of your life.
I can't resist,
My desire to make you care about me is too strong to ignore.
I'd be a fool to try.
Even though I know it's risky, I can't help but pursue your affection.
I know if once we kissed,
If we were to share a kiss, it would be the beginning of the end for me. I would be completely under your spell.
I could kiss my heart goodbye!
This relationship has the potential to completely consume me emotionally.
I knew this was love
I realized that I was in love with you as soon as I met you.
The moment I found you,
From the instant I saw you, I knew that you were the one for me.
So I planned my life,
The future I envisioned for myself included you as a major part of it.
It's built all around you!
Every aspect of my life revolves around you and our relationship.
Give me this chance,
I am asking for an opportunity to prove to you that I can make you care about me.
Darling if you only would,
If you would just let me in and allow yourself to care for me, I know we could be great together.
I could make you care,
I believe in my ability to make you care about me.
I know I could!
I am confident that I can make this relationship work if you give me a chance.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SAMMY CAHN, SAUL CHAPLIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind