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.
Get Me to the Church On Time
Kay Starr Lyrics
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That's all the time you've got.
A few more hours
Before they tie the knot.
There are drinks and girls all over London, and I've
gotta track 'em down in just a few more hours!
I'm getting married in the morning!
Pull out the stopper!
Let's have a whopper!
But get me to the church on time!
I gotta be there in the mornin'
Spruced up and lookin' in me prime.
Girls, come and kiss me;
Show how you'll miss me.
But get me to the church on time!
If I am dancin'
Roll up the floor.
If I am whistlin'
Whewt me out the door!
For I'm gettin' married in the mornin'
Ding dong! the bells are gonna chime.
Kick up an rumpus
But don't lost the compass;
And get me to the church,
Get me to the church,
For Gawd's sake, get me to the church on time!
I'm getting married in the morning
Ding dong! the bells are gonna chime.
Doolittle
Drug me or jail me,
Stamp me and mail me.
But get me to the church on time!
I gotta be there in the morning
Spruced up and lookin' in me prime.
Some bloke who's able
Lift up the table,
And get em to the church on time!
If I am flying
Then shoot me down.
If I am wooin',
Get her out of town!
For I'm getting married in the morning!
Ding dong! the bells are gonna chime.
Feather and tar me;
Call out the Army;
But get me to the church.
Get me to the church
For Gawd's sake, get me to the church on time!
Starlight is reelin' home to bed now.
Mornin' is smearin' up the sky.
London is wakin'.
Daylight is breakin'.
Good luck, old chum,
Good health, goodbye.
I'm gettin' married in the mornin'
Ding dong! the bells are gonna chime
Hail and salute me
Then haul off and boot me
And get me to the church,
Get me to the church
For Gawd's sake, get me to the church on time!
Kay Starr's song Get Me to the Church on Time, which was written by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, is an upbeat and lively song that features the singer expressing his excitement and urgency to get to the church on time for his wedding the next morning. The song is notable for its quick tempo and energetic chorus, which contrasts with the singer's occasional panic about potentially missing the ceremony due to his partying the night before.
The lyrics express the singer's anxiety and eagerness about his impending marriage, as well as his desire to live up to societal expectations about how a groom is supposed to behave on his wedding day. However, the song also subtly critiques these expectations, as the singer also expresses frustration with the constraints he feels are placed upon him, such as no longer being able to "track down" girls and drinks once he's married.
The song has since become a popular show tune, and has been included in several musicals, including the original Broadway production of My Fair Lady, which Lerner and Loewe also wrote. The song has been performed by a variety of artists across different genres, and has been featured in several movies and TV shows, such as the 1964 film adaptation of My Fair Lady.
Line by Line Meaning
There's just a few more hours.
That's all the time you've got before the wedding.
A few more hours
Before they tie the knot.
The wedding is about to happen in just a few hours.
I'm getting married in the morning!
Ding dong! The bells are gonna chime.
The singer is excited for their wedding day and the bells will signal the beginning of the ceremony.
Pull out the stopper!
Let's have a whopper!
But get me to the church on time!
There's still time for a drink and celebration, but the artist needs to make it to the ceremony on schedule.
I gotta be there in the mornin'
Spruced up and lookin' in me prime.
The artist needs to be at the church early, looking their best.
Girls, come and kiss me;
Show how you'll miss me.
But get me to the church on time!
The singer wants to say goodbye to their female acquaintances, but still needs to arrive at the church on schedule.
If I am dancin'
Roll up the floor.
If I am whistlin'
Whewt me out the door!
The singer wants to celebrate, but is willing to leave if it means making it to the ceremony in time.
Kick up an rumpus
But don't lost the compass;
And get me to the church,
Get me to the church,
For Gawd's sake, get me to the church on time!
The artist wants to party but still needs to make it to their own wedding on schedule.
I'm getting married in the morning
Ding dong! The bells are gonna chime.
Doolittle
Drug me or jail me,
Stamp me and mail me.
But get me to the church on time!
The artist is willing to do anything to make it to their own wedding, even if they have to be drug or sent to jail.
Some bloke who's able
Lift up the table,
And get em to the church on time!
The artist needs anyone who is able to help them get to the church on schedule.
If I am flying
Then shoot me down.
If I am wooin',
Get her out of town!
The singer is willing to give up anything that might keep them from making it to their own wedding.
Feather and tar me;
Call out the Army;
But get me to the church.
Get me to the church
For Gawd's sake, get me to the church on time!
The artist needs extreme measures to ensure they make it to their wedding on schedule.
Starlight is reelin' home to bed now.
Mornin' is smearin' up the sky.
London is wakin'.
Daylight is breakin'.
Good luck, old chum,
Good health, goodbye.
The night is ending and the morning is beginning, and the singer says goodbye to their friends before the wedding.
Hail and salute me
Then haul off and boot me
And get me to the church,
Get me to the church
For Gawd's sake, get me to the church on time!
The singer is willing to be pushed and shoved as long as they make it to their own wedding on time.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind