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.
Just For A Thrill
Kay Starr Lyrics
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You changed the sunshine to rain
Just for a thrill
You filled my heart with pain
To me you were my pride and joy
But to you, I was merely a toy
A plaything, that you could toss around at will
Just for a thrill
You made my life one sad song
Just for a thrill
You just led me along
Although you're free and havin' your fun
To me you're still the only one
Cause you made my heart stand still
Just for a thrill
Although you're free and havin' your fun
To me you're still the only one
Cause you made my heart stand still
Well, it was just for a thrill
And baby you, you, made my heart stand still
Just for a thrill
The song "Just for a Thrill" by Kay Starr is a bluesy ballad that tells the story of a woman who fell deeply in love with a man, only to find out that she was just a temporary source of amusement for him. The lyrics describe how this man changed her life from a source of sunshine to rain and filled her heart with pain. Even though the man was just toying with her, she saw him as her pride and joy, and the pain of losing him haunted her even after he moved on to other women.
The verse "To me you were my pride and joy, but to you, I was merely a toy, a plaything, that you could toss around at will," is the central theme of the song. The singer laments how the man she loves sees her only as an object to be easily discarded when he tires of her. Despite this, the woman still longs for him and believes he is the only one for her.
The chorus of the song reinforces the idea that the man's treatment of her was just for his own entertainment, and not for the sake of any authentic emotional connection. The line, "just for a thrill," emphasizes how the man was willing to wreck the singer's life, just for his own amusement.
Overall, the song is a powerful testament to the damage that can be done by someone who treats love as a game. It's a warning to anyone who might consider using another person's feelings for their own ends.
Line by Line Meaning
Just for a thrill
Merely for the sake of the excitement or pleasure of it.
You changed the sunshine to rain
You turned my happiness and optimism into sorrow and gloom.
You filled my heart with pain
You caused me great emotional turmoil and upset.
To me you were my pride and joy
I considered you to be my greatest source of happiness and fulfillment.
But to you, I was merely a toy
You saw me as a disposable object that you could play with at will.
A plaything, that you could toss around at will
You treated me as something to be used for your own amusement or pleasure.
You made my life one sad song
You turned my entire existence into a depressing experience.
You just led me along
You gave me false hope and led me on without any intention of following through.
Although you're free and havin' your fun
Even though you are living your life without any constraints or worries.
To me you're still the only one
Despite all that has happened, I still hold strong feelings for you and cannot let go.
Cause you made my heart stand still
Your presence and impact on my life had such a profound effect that it left me stunned.
Well, it was just for a thrill
In the end, all that you did to me was simply for your own personal amusement and enjoyment.
And baby you, you, made my heart stand still
Your actions had such a strong and lasting effect on me that I still feel the effects even now.
Just for a thrill
This cycle of excitement followed by pain was all just a game to you.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Don Raye, Lillian Hardin Armstrong
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind