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.
I Can't Help It
Kay Starr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And my heart fell at your feet
I can't help it if I'm still in love with you
Somebody else stood by your side
And he looked so satisfied
I can't help it if I'm still in love with you
As I brushed your arm and walked so close to you
The-en suddenly I got that old-time feelin'
I can't help it if I'm still in love with you (still in love with you)
(Today I passed you on the street)
Today I passed you on the street
(And my heart fell at your feet)
And my heart fell at your feet
I can't help it if I'm still in love with you
(Somebody else stood by your side)
Somebody else stood by your side
(And he looked so satisfied)
And, ya know, he looked so satisfied
I can't help it if I'm still in love with you
Oh, it hurts to know another's lips will kiss you
And hold ya just the way I used to do
Oh-oh-oh-oh heaven only knows how much I miss, how much that I miss ya
I can't help it if I'm still in love with you
(Still in love with you)
The lyrics of Kay Starr's "Nevertheless I'm in Love With You" describe an emotional moment where the singer encounters someone from their past on the street. As she passes him, her heart "falls at his feet," and she begins reflecting on the feelings she still has for him. She sees him with another person, and despite his apparent satisfaction, she cannot help but feel the ache of missing him.
The lyrics capture the experience of longing and heartache after a relationship has ended. The singer paints a vivid picture of the past, as she remembers the feelings she had for the person she loved. She even admits that it hurts to imagine someone else holding him close, knowing that it used to be her who comforted him. Despite it all, she cannot help but admit that she is still in love with him.
The song is a poignant reflection on the inability to control our emotions in the face of love. It speaks to the way that love can linger long after a relationship has ended, leaving us with a yearning that cannot be satisfied.
Line by Line Meaning
Today I passed you on the street
The singer saw the person who they are still in love with on the street.
And my heart fell at your feet
The singer's heart was overwhelmed with emotion upon seeing the person they love.
I can't help it if I'm still in love with you
The singer cannot control their feelings and is still in love with the person they saw.
Somebody else stood by your side
The person the singer loves was with someone else.
And, ya know, he looked so satisfied
The singer noticed that the person who their love interest was with seemed content.
Oh, it hurts to know another's lips will kiss you
The thought of someone else kissing the person the singer loves is painful for them to bear.
And hold ya just the way I used to do
The singer remembers the way they used to hold the person they love and wishes it was still them doing it.
Oh-oh-oh-oh heaven only knows how much I miss, how much that I miss ya
The singer is expressing how much they miss the person they love.
I can't help it if I'm still in love with you
The singer cannot control their love for the person they saw.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Hank Williams, Sr.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
twerpy7
Love this song. Love Kay's singing.
George Julian Pilcher
I've never heard this song before by Kay Starr, she does a great rendition of Hank Williams great song. She is truly in class all by herself.
Mark Gallagher
@Pumkineater1938 I have never been a country fan, but I loved the songs that Hank Williams wrote as long as he didn't sing them. This is my favoried of hanks songs. The best version I think was done by Adam Wade back in 1960. But Kay can do just about anything and make it sound good.
Mark Gallagher
I loved the songs that Hank Williams wrote I just couldn't stand to hear him singing them. This I think was one of the best. Kay does a great job of singing it.
SA SA
❤Kay❤