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 Faded Summer Love
Kay Starr Lyrics
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I wonder why
I'm standing now where you made your vow
So blue for you I could cry
Leaves come tumbling down round my head
Some of them are brown some are red
Beautiful to see, but reminding me
Weighing high above in the trees
They were so in love with the breeze
Now the autumn wind brings to them the end
Of a faded summer love
I'm like the poor leaves that swayed with the breeze
I thought that life was sweet
You are the sweet breeze that tried hard to please
Then swept me off my feet
Summer morning dew turn to frost
Leaves that once were new pay the cost
Beautiful to see but reminding me
Of a faded summer love
I'm like the poor leaves that swayed with the breeze
I thought that life was sweet
You are the sweet breeze that tried hard to please
Then swept me off my feet
Summer morning dew turn to frost
Leaves that once were new pay the cost
Beautiful to see but reminding me
Of a faded summer love
Kay Starr's "A Faded Summer Love" is a song about lost love and the memories that linger on. The singer is left wondering why her lover left without even saying goodbye, and now she's standing where they made their vows, feeling blue and tearful. The leaves are starting to fall around her head and as she watches them tumble down, reminding her of the love that has faded away.
The song is a beautiful metaphor where leaves falling around the singer's head symbolize the fading of her summer love. They are beautiful to see, but they also remind her of what she has lost. The leaves and the trees were once so in love with the breeze, but now the autumn wind brings an end to it all.
The singer compares herself to the leaves that were swayed by the breeze. She thought that life was sweet, and her former lover was the sweet breeze that swept her off her feet, but it didn't last. Summer morning dew turns to frost, and leaves that were once new pay the cost. The beauty of nature is a reminder that time moves on, and so do people.
Line by Line Meaning
You left today but you didn't say goodbye
You departed without a farewell, and I am uncertain why.
I'm standing now where you made your vow
I'm in the place where you promised to stay, feeling lost without you now.
So blue for you I could cry
I feel so saddened by your absence that I could weep in despair.
Leaves come tumbling down round my head
I am surrounded by falling autumn leaves, whirling around my ears.
Some of them are brown some are red
The leaves vary in shades of brown and red, reminding me of what once was.
Beautiful to see, but reminding me
The autumn scenery is breathtaking, but it fills me with memories and longing for what is no more.
Of a faded summer love
I am reminded of the relationship that was once vibrant and passionate, but has now faded away.
Weighing high above in the trees
The leaves are hanging heavily in the air, symbolic of the weight of our past relationship.
They were so in love with the breeze
The leaves were once enamored by the gentle wind, much like we were enamored with each other.
Now the autumn wind brings to them the end
The cold wind of autumn is bringing about their demise, much like our love has ended.
I'm like the poor leaves that swayed with the breeze
I am like the leaves that once danced in the wind and now have fallen to the ground.
I thought that life was sweet
I had a rose-tinted view of life and our relationship, but now I realize it was not as perfect as I thought.
You are the sweet breeze that tried hard to please
You were the joy and excitement in my life, always trying to make me happy.
Then swept me off my feet
You swept me off my feet, filling my life with love and light before leaving me behind.
Summer morning dew turn to frost
The warmth and freshness of summer mornings are now cold and barren, much like my heart.
Leaves that once were new pay the cost
The leaves, once so full of life and vibrancy, are now falling to the ground withered and lifeless.
Lyrics Β© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: PHIL BAXTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind