Kay Starr was successful in every field of music she tried, jazz, country and pop. But her roots were in jazz, Billie Holiday, considered by many the greatest jazz singer of all time, called Starr "the only white woman who could sing the blues."
She is best remembered for introducing two songs that became #1 hits in the 1950s, "Wheel of Fortune" and "The Rock And Roll Waltz".
Kay Starr was born on a reservation in Dougherty, Oklahoma. Her father, Harry, was a full-blooded Iroquois Indian; her mother, Annie, was of mixed Irish and American Indian heritage. When her father got a job installing water sprinkler systems, the family moved to Dallas, Texas.
While her father worked for the Automatic Sprinkler Company, her mother raised chickens, and Kay used to sing to the chickens in the coop. As a result of the fact that her aunt, Nora, was impressed by her singing, she began to sing at the age of seven on a Dallas radio station, WRR, first in a talent competition where she finished third one week and won every week thereafter, then with her own weekly fifteen minute show. She sang pop and "hillbilly" songs with a piano accompaniment. By the age of ten, she was making $3 a night, a lot of money in the Depression days.
As a result of her father's changing jobs, her family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and she continued performing on the radio, singing "Western swing music," still mostly a mix of country and pop. It was while she was on the Memphis radio station WMPS that, as a result of misspellings in her fan mail, she and her parents decided to give her the name "Kay Starr". At the age of fifteen, she was chosen to sing with the Joe Venuti orchestra. Venuti had a contract to play in the Peabody Hotel in Memphis which called for his band to feature a girl singer, which he did not have; Venuti's road manager heard her on the radio, and suggested her to Venuti. Because she was still in junior high school, her parents insisted that Venuti take her home no later than midnight.
Although she had brief stints in 1939 with Bob Crosby and Glenn Miller (who hired her in July of that year when his regular singer, Marion Hutton, was sick), she spent most of her next few years with Venuti, until he dissolved his band in 1942. It was, however, with Miller that she cut her first record: "Baby Me"/"Love with a Capital You." It was not a great success, in part because the band played in a key more appropriate for Marion Hutton, which was less suited for Kay's vocal range.
A Cottage For Sale
Kay Starr Lyrics
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With every dream gone
Is lonely and silent
The shades are all drawn
And my heart is heavy
As I gaze upon
A cottage for sale
Is waving in hay
Our beautiful garden has
Withered away.
Where we planted the roses
The weeds seem to say
There′s a cottage for sale
And from every window
I can see your face
But, when I reach that window
There's an empty space
The key′s in the mailbox
The same as before
But, no one is waiting for me anymore
The end of our story
Is sold on the door
There is a cottage for sale
And now, from every single window
I can see your face
But, when I reach that window
There's such an empty space
The key's in the mailbox
The same as before
But, no one is waiting for me anymore
The end of our story
Is sold on the door
And our cottage is for sale
The lyrics of Kay Starr's song "A Cottage For Sale" paint a poignant picture of a once vibrant and cherished dream that has now faded into loneliness and despair. The opening lines, "Our little dream castle, With every dream gone, Is lonely and silent, The shades are all drawn," immediately set the somber tone of the song. It speaks to the loss of hope and the feeling of emptiness that comes when a cherished dream or relationship dissolves.
As the lyrics continue, the imagery shifts to describe the physical decay of the once beautiful and thriving cottage. The lawn is now overgrown with hay and the once blooming garden has withered away. The contrast between the weeds and the roses that used to flourish serves as a metaphor for the downfall of the relationship. The line, "Where we planted the roses, The weeds seem to say, There's a cottage for sale," further emphasizes the sense of abandonment and loss.
The chorus brings forth the emotional agony of the singer. They can still see their loved one's face in every window, but upon reaching out, they are met with an empty space. The key remains in the mailbox, symbolizing a glimmer of hope or a longing for the past, but the realization hits hard – no one is waiting anymore. The end of their story is marked by "sold" on the door, signifying the finality and the undeniable truth that their cottage, their home, and their relationship are now up for sale.
Overall, the lyrics of "A Cottage For Sale" paint a vivid picture of a once cherished dream that has crumbled, leaving behind a desolate landscape and a heart filled with longing. It captures the essence of loss, abandonment, and the painful realization that what was once home and love is now lost.
Writer(s): Larry Conley, Willard Robison
Contributed by Riley T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
John Trotta
The band accompanying Miss Starr us The Count Basie Orchestra. The arrangement was done by a Dick Hyman.
Taro Kimura
Key sings with Count Basie, 1968.
Arranged By Dick Hyman.