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.
Mean To Me
Kay Starr Lyrics
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Why must you be mean to me?
Gee, honey, it seems to me
You love to see me cryin'
I don't know why
I stay home each night
When you say you phone
You don't and I'm left alone.
You treat me coldly each day in the year
You always scold me
Whenever somebody is near, dear
I must be great fun to be mean to me
You shouldn't, for can't you see
What you mean to me
The lyrics of Kay Starr's "Mean To Me" express the feeling of despair and confusion that comes with being in a relationship with a partner who is consistently unkind. The singer addresses her lover directly, questioning why they behave this way towards her. She suggests that they enjoy seeing her suffer and that they frequently break promises to call her, leaving her alone and unhappy. Despite this mistreatment, the singer continues to stay home each night, hoping for a call that never comes.
Additionally, the singer acknowledges the partner's tendency to treat her coldly even when others are around and to scold her unnecessarily. She concludes that it must be entertaining for her partner to be cruel to her and laments the painful impact it has on her emotions. The final lines express the depth of her feelings for her partner, despite their negative behavior towards her.
Overall, the song is a poignant reflection on the struggle of being in an abusive or difficult relationship, highlighting the complex emotions that come with such dynamics.
Line by Line Meaning
You're mean to me
You are unkind and hurtful towards me
Why must you be mean to me?
I do not understand why you choose to treat me with cruelty
Gee, honey, it seems to me
My dear, it appears to me
You love to see me cryin'
It brings you pleasure to see me in tears
I don't know why
I am unsure why
I stay home each night
I remain at my dwelling every evening
When you say you phone
When you claim you will call me
You don't and I'm left alone.
But you do not, and I am left isolated
Sing the blues and sighin'
I am singing sad songs and sighing
You treat me coldly each day in the year
Every day of the year, you treat me with indifference
You always scold me
You criticize and reprimand me constantly
Whenever somebody is near, dear
Whenever there is another person present, my love
I must be great fun to be mean to me
I suppose it is enjoyable to treat me unkindly
You shouldn't, for can't you see
You should not, because do you not realize
What you mean to me
How much I care for you and how much your actions affect me
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, T.R.O. INC., Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: EMERSON HART
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind