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.
It Had to Be You
Kay Starr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Why must I just give you your way?
Why do I sigh?
Why do I try to forget?
It must have been that something lovers call "Fate"
Kept on saying I had to wait
I saw them all
It had to be you, it had to be you
I wandered around and finally found the somebody who
Could make me be true, could make me be blue
And even be glad just to be sad thinkin' of you
Some others I've seen might never be mean
Might never be cross or try to be boss, but they wouldn't do
For nobody else gave me a thrill
With all your faults, I love you still
It had to be you, wonderful you, it had to be you
The lyrics to Kay Starr's song "It Had to Be You" are a heartfelt expression of love and the inevitable feeling of fate that brings two people together. The song starts with the singer questioning why she always does what her lover says and gives in to their every whim. She wonders why she sighs and why she tries to forget, alluding to the weight of her feelings for this person. She then reflects on the power of fate, which kept telling her to wait until she found the one person who could make her be true and not just put on a façade.
In the chorus of the song, she declares that it had to be this person that she fell in love with. She had searched around for so long until finally finding someone who could make her feel true emotions – not just happiness, but sadness too. She then compares this person to others she has met in the past, saying that they might never be mean or try to be bossy, but they still wouldn't do because no one else had given her the same thrill. The lyrics end with the affirmation that this person had to be the one, the wonderful person that she loves in spite of their faults.
Overall, the song is a classic example of a love song with timeless appeal. It captures the feeling of fate and the idea that some people are just meant to be together. The lyrics express the highs and lows of love, and the singer's voice brings it all to life with an emotional intensity that makes the listener feel what she is feeling.
Line by Line Meaning
Why do I do just as you say?
Why do I follow your lead and obey your commands?
Why must I just give you your way?
Why should I always yield to your wishes and allow you to get what you want?
Why do I sigh?
Why do I breathe out wearily, expressing my unhappiness or discontentment?
Why do I try to forget?
Why do I endeavor to put you out of my thoughts and stop thinking of you?
It must have been that something lovers call "Fate"
It is likely that an inexplicable force, which lovers refer to as Fate, was responsible for our meeting.
Kept on saying I had to wait
It seemed like Fate kept telling me that I just had to be patient and wait for the right person to come along.
I saw them all
I observed many other potential partners.
Just couldn't fall till we met
But I did not experience romantic chemistry with anyone else until I met you.
It had to be you, it had to be you
Undoubtedly, it had to be you that I ended up loving.
I wandered around and finally found the somebody who
I spent a long time searching for the one person who
Could make me be true, could make me be blue
And you were the only one who could inspire feelings of honesty and sadness within me.
And even be glad just to be sad thinkin' of you
And remarkably, I can now find happiness in simply reminiscing and feeling melancholic about you.
Some others I've seen might never be mean
I've encountered others who might not be unkind or cruel.
Might never be cross or try to be boss, but they wouldn't do
But they would never be enough for me, because they lack the qualities that make you so special.
For nobody else gave me a thrill
No one else has ever aroused such exciting emotions within me.
With all your faults, I love you still
Despite your imperfections, I still love you wholeheartedly.
It had to be you, wonderful you, it had to be you
You are the only one for me, my wonderful love. It just had to be you.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Isham Jones, Gus Kahn
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@senorstronk
Thanks for this! I like this version the best!
@johnwhitehead3360
Nice tune nicely sung
@autumnreigns7266
I was able to see her, Kay Starr, sing this song and many others at The MINT Casino & Hotel (before he Sahara) in LAS VEGAS in 1967. I was 10 years old and with my parents at a "dinner show" (something they don't do now days). She was my father's favorite singer, his favorite song was Wheel of Fortune. I never realized how lucky I was as a little girl to see all of these "old timers" preform; my father would get "comps" to all the shows (something else not done since the 90's, and NO shows today in COVID-19 2020-2021). He was working as a Casino Floorman in Vegas for many years. So I was able to see so many huge stars from back in the day as they would say, such as Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Lenna Horne, Elvis (3 times), Connie Stevens, Mac Davis, Anthony Newly, George Burns, Carol Channing, Eydie Gorme, Robert Goulet, Ella, Cher, Dolly, Joan Rivers, Johnny Carson, Flip Wilson, Jim Neighbors, Kenny Rodgers (and earlier Kenny Rodgers with the 5th edition playing the lounge rather than showroom), Ann Margret, even The Osmond's and Jackson Five, the list keeps going...oh my. It never dawned on me how fortunate I was to have seen all of these "iconic stars" in person, and in some cases actually meeting them and talking to them as if they were our next door neighbor. Being so young and having it happen regularly, it never seemed so special or important. Now that I am well into my 60's I know exactly what a wonderful gift my father gave me being able to provide these early day "concerts" in Las Vegas by all of these celebrities. The wonderful memories I have. I spoke with Elvis several times at the Hilton aka The International (etc), in different years too, about ordinary things, it was no big deal, I was just a kid and I didn't understand all the pomp and circumstance. I think that is what he liked about me, I treated him like he was nobody (does that make sense?). Anyway, just had to say.... WOW..... I saw her sing and so happy that I can say that !
@Abasteceltrucks
She was a really elegant singer.
@Retroscoop
Damned, I thought she was going to do the same thing as Kirk Douglas, putting 100 candles on her birthday cake one day, but well, 94 is not a bad age to say goodbye to Earth's life of course...
@felixheiss
Fab .