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.
Evenin
Kay Starr Lyrics
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And you always remind me that my baby's gone
Evening, you got me deeply in your power
Every minute seems just like an hour, now that my baby's gone
Shadows fall upon the wall, that's the time I miss your kiss most of all
Even though I try, how can I go on
I don't care if I don't awaken, since my baby's gone
Shadows fall upon the wall, that's the time I miss your kiss most of all
Even though I try, how can I go on
Evening, let me sleep till glow of dawn is breakin'
I don't care if I don't awaken, since my man is gone
The lyrics to Kay Starr's song "Evenin'" are a melancholic reflection on the absence of a loved one. The singer of the song explains how every night when evening comes, it serves as a reminder that her baby is gone. The nighttime accentuates her loneliness, with every minute feeling like an hour. The shadows on the wall serve as a visual representation of her sadness, and the memory of her lover's kiss haunts her during these quiet moments, making it hard to move on.
The singer ultimately pleads with evening to let her sleep until the glow of dawn is breaking, as she no longer cares if she awakens. The loss of her lover has left her feeling hollow in a way that makes waking up each day a difficult task. The repetition of "since my baby's gone" and "since my man is gone" near the end drives home the point that the absence of her lover has taken over all aspects of her life.
Overall, the song captures the universal feeling of grief and mourning that follows the loss of someone we love. It illustrates how the absence of a loved one can infiltrate even the most mundane moments, making it difficult to move on.
Line by Line Meaning
Evening, every night you come and you find me
The singer feels like evening comes every night just to find her, because it reminds her that her baby is no longer with her.
And you always remind me that my baby's gone
The evening always reminds the singer that her baby is gone, making her feel even worse.
Evening, you got me deeply in your power
The evening has a hold over the singer because of her sadness and pain, causing her to feel like time is passing extremely slowly.
Every minute seems just like an hour, now that my baby's gone
The singer feels like each minute is dragging on because she misses her baby so much.
Shadows fall upon the wall, that's the time I miss your kiss most of all
The shadows on the wall serve as a reminder of when the singer would receive a kiss from her baby, and she misses that time the most.
Even though I try, how can I go on
Even though the singer tries to move on, she finds it difficult to do so because of her sadness and heartbreak.
Oh evening, let me sleep till glow of dawn is breakin'
The singer wishes to sleep through the night until the morning arrives, hoping that she will feel better during a new day.
I don't care if I don't awaken, since my baby's gone
The singer doesn't care if she doesn't wake up the following morning due to her deep sadness and the fact that her baby is no longer with her.
Evening, let me sleep till glow of dawn is breakin'
The singer again pleas with the evening to allow her to sleep through the night until a new day arrives.
Since my man is gone
Using the word 'man' instead of 'baby' in this line simply confirms that the singer's loved one is no longer with her.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHARLES N. DANIELS, RICHARD WHITING, RICHARD A. WHITING
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Johnnyc drums
Big fan of Kay, her version of "Night Train" is by far the best. Fat horns on this one is killa'. Great channel, glad I found it.
Jeffrey Austin
My only and (minor) gripe is that whoever did the remastering on this lost a lot of highs that were even on the original 78. It has far more "sizzle," but this is still a great record and performance.
mooooogrl
Great song!! Fabulous voice!!
Ravyn Katzen
MARVELOUS