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.
If Anyone Finds This I Love You
Kay Starr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
At my feet, there fluttered a note.
I opened it up and to my great surprise,
I read these strange words someone wrote;
If anyone finds this, I love you,
I love you, I love you.
If anyone finds this, I love you,
I smiled at the note, then I tossed it aside,
But it haunted me day and night,
Until I just had to retrace every step,
In hopes I might learn who would write;
If anyone finds this, I love you,
I love you, I love you.
If anyone finds this, I love you,
Honest and truly I do!
Nearby was a house with a sign on the door,
And there, "Home for Orphans" I read.
A small face looked down from a window at me,
And somehow I knew who had said;
If anyone finds this, I love you,
I love you, I love you.
If anyone finds this, I love you,
Honest and truly I do!
And then toward that window, my heart seemed to soar,
I walked up the path and I knocked at the door!
The lyrics of Kay Starr's song If Anyone Finds This I Love You are heartfelt and poignant, telling the story of a person who comes across a note while walking alone in the country. The note contains the words "If anyone finds this, I love you, Honest and truly I do." The person who finds the note is initially amused, but the message stays with them, and they feel compelled to search for the author of the note. As they retrace their steps, they come across a house that is a home for orphans, and they see a small child looking out from a window. The person realizes that the child is the author of the note and feels their heart soar towards them. The song ends with the person knocking at the door of the home, their efforts to find the author of the note finally successful.
The song is about the universal human need for love and connection, and how even the simplest of gestures can bring people together. The note's author is a child who has likely experienced loneliness and isolation, and who is reaching out to the world in the only way they know how. The song's protagonist, on the other hand, is someone who has been touched by the message of the note, and who feels compelled to respond to it, even if it means embarking on a difficult and uncertain journey. The song is a reminder that sometimes, our deepest human connections can come from unexpected places.
Line by Line Meaning
As I walked alone in the country one day,
As I wandered by myself in the outskirts of the city, with no one to accompany me, I found a note that was fluttering at my feet.
At my feet, there fluttered a note.
I found a piece of paper that was moving around with the direction of wind.
I opened it up and to my great surprise, I read these strange words someone wrote;
I opened the paper and to my astonishment, I read some peculiar words that someone had written.
If anyone finds this, I love you,
In case somebody gets hold of this note, I want them to know that I love them.
I love you, I love you.
I am filled with affection towards you, and I repeat it twice to emphasize my emotions.
If anyone finds this, I love you,
Once again, I want to express my love in case an unexpected person happens to find this note.
Honest and truly I do!
I am being completely sincere when I say that I love the recipient of this message.
I smiled at the note, then I tossed it aside,
Initially, I smiled when I read this heartfelt message, but later I got rid of it casually.
But it haunted me day and night,
Despite discarding the note, it kept on bothering me 24/7.
Until I just had to retrace every step,
I felt obliged to retrace each and every movement of mine in hopes of discovering the message sender.
In hopes I might learn who would write;
With the motive of figuring out the identity of the author, I decided to proceed with it in a positive way.
Nearby was a house with a sign on the door,
In close proximity, I spotted a house with a board stating a Home for Orphans.
And there, "Home for Orphans" I read.
The board contained the message ‘Home for Orphans,’ reflecting on the primary purpose of the house.
A small face looked down from a window at me,
Suddenly, a small face appeared on the window, and peeped out to see who was knocking at their door.
And somehow I knew who had said;
In some way or the other, I was sure of knowing that the little face from the window had written those loving words.
If anyone finds this, I love you,
Once again, reiterating an expression of love so anyone who comes across this message can feel the affection.
I love you, I love you.
I feel intense love towards you, and I want to make it apparent that my feelings are genuine.
If anyone finds this, I love you,
Just a final reminder that if someone finds this, they need to know that I love them.
Honest and truly I do!
And lastly, I want to confirm that I am not lying, and I love the person who finds this message very sincerely.
And then toward that window, my heart seemed to soar,
My heart started beating rapidly as I began walking towards the window of the house where the little adorable face had appeared, making my emotions soar.
I walked up the path and I knocked at the door!
I approached the house by walking towards the entrance and knocked on the door, with the hope of finally finding the author of this lovely message.
Writer(s): Sidney Lippman, Sylvia Dee
Contributed by Alexandra O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@violetproodian4257
Kay starr was the best.
@ninjabluewings
As much as I love Kay I have got to be honest you need to hear Ruby Murray sing this, NO CONTEST! it belongs 100% to Ruby
@bryanrendleman2001
Yes Ruby's version is tops.