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.
Ain't Misbehavin'
Kay Starr Lyrics
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All by myself
No one to walk with
But I'm happy on the shelf
Ain't misbehavin'
I'm savin' my love for you
I know for certain
I'm through with flirtin'
It's just you I'm thinkin' of
Ain't misbehavin'
I'm savin' my love for you
Like Jack Horner
In the corner
Don't go nowhere
What do I care?
Your kisses are worth waitin' for
Believe me
I don't stay out late
Don't care to go
I'm home about eight
Just me and my radio
Ain't misbehavin'
I'm savin' my love for you
Like Jack Horner
In the corner
Don't go nowhere
What do I care?
Your kisses are worth waitin' for
Believe me
I don't stay out late
Don't care to go
I'm home about eight
Just me and my radio
Ain't misbehavin'
I'm savin' my love for you
Kay Starr's song "Ain't Misbehavin'" is a love song that is a testament to the idea that being alone and waiting for the right person is far better than spending time with the wrong people or engaging in misbehavior. The chorus "ain't misbehavin', I'm savin' my love for you" reinforces the idea that the singer is dedicated to one person and is willing to wait patiently for them.
The lyrics in the first verse, "No one to talk with, all by myself, no one to walk with, but I'm happy on the shelf" suggests that the singer is content with solitude as long as they know who they are waiting for. The second verse, "I know for certain the one I love, I'm through with flirtin', it's just you I'm thinkin' of" reinforces this idea, showing that the singer is clear about their intentions and has no desire to engage in meaningless flirtation.
The bridge in which the singer compares themselves to Jack Horner sitting in the corner, eyes on the prize, reinforces the idea of patience and the willingness to wait for the right person. The final verse, "I don't stay out late, don't care to go, I'm home about eight, just me and my radio" suggests contentment in one's own company, as long as they know that they are saving their love for the right person.
Overall, the lyrics of "Ain't Misbehavin'" are a tribute to patience, devotion, and a belief in the idea that being alone and waiting for someone worthy of one's affections is far better than being with the wrong person or engaging in any kind of misbehavior.
Line by Line Meaning
No one to talk with
I don't have anyone to talk to
All by myself
I am alone
No one to walk with
I don't have anyone to walk with
But I'm happy on the shelf
Even though I am alone, I am content with being by myself
Ain't misbehavin'
I am not behaving badly
I'm savin' my love for you
I am reserving my love for only you
I know for certain
I am certain
The one I love
I love only one person
I'm through with flirtin'
I am done with flirting with others
It's just you I'm thinkin' of
I am only thinking of you
Like Jack Horner
Similar to Jack Horner
In the corner
In a corner
Don't go nowhere
I don't go anywhere
What do I care?
I don't care
Your kisses are worth waitin' for
I am willing to wait for your kisses
Believe me
Trust me
I don't stay out late
I don't stay out until late at night
Don't care to go
I don't feel like going out
I'm home about eight
I usually come home around eight o'clock
Just me and my radio
I am alone with only my radio
Ain't misbehavin'
I am not behaving badly
I'm savin' my love for you
I am reserving my love for only you
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Andy Razaf, Fats Waller, Harry Brooks
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind