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.
My Future Just Passed
Kay Starr Lyrics
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There goes the girl I'll now be a fool about
Ring down the curtain, I'm certain at present
My future just passed.
Don't even know if she has been spoken for.
If she is tied, the ties must be broken, for
Life can't be that way,to wake me then break me
Stars in the blue, tho' you're at a distance
You can at least do this,
Sometimes a boy encounters resistance
Help me to win this miss.
Here are my arms, may she find illusion there.
Look in my heart, there is no confusion there
Now that I'm loving, I'm living at last,
My future just passed
The lyrics of Kay Starr's song My Future Just Passed evoke the regret of a man who has missed his chance with the girl he had always dreamed of. He reflects on his past, remembering how he had always longed for her, but failed to act on his feelings. Now, he watches as she walks away, knowing that he will forever be a fool for not telling her how he feels. He is certain that his chance at love and a happy future has just passed.
The lyrics suggest that the man has been holding on to his dreams without taking any action. He does not know whether the girl is already taken, but he hopes that even if she is, the ties can be broken. He wonders why life has to be so unpredictable and harsh, waking him up from his slumber of indecision, only to break his heart. The only hope he has left is the stars in the sky, which he asks to guide him towards winning the girl's heart. He offers his arms to her, hoping that she will find solace in them and look into his heart to see that there is no confusion there. The man realizes that he has wasted his past, but now that he is finally loving, he can live in the present and hope for a future with the girl he had always dreamed about.
Line by Line Meaning
There goes the girl I dreamed all through school about,
The girl that I dreamed of during my entire school life has walked past me.
There goes the girl I'll now be a fool about
I know I'll be a fool for her and fall in love with her deeply.
Ring down the curtain, I'm certain at present
I'm sure that my chances of being with her have ended, and I'm ready to give up.
My future just passed.
I feel like I just missed my chance for a happy future with her.
Don't even know if she has been spoken for.
I have no idea if she's already in a relationship.
If she is tied, the ties must be broken, for
If she is already in a relationship, I hope it doesn't stop me.
Life can't be that way,to wake me then break me
I am hurt that I was just given a glimpse of happiness only for it to be taken away.
My future just passed.
I feel like my future was just ruined in one quick moment.
Stars in the blue, tho' you're at a distance
Even though the stars are far away, I ask them to help me.
You can at least do this,
Please give me the power to win the girl I love.
Sometimes a boy encounters resistance
It's not easy to woo a girl, sometimes we face obstacles.
Help me to win this miss.
I plead for a higher power's help to win her heart and affection.
Here are my arms, may she find illusion there.
I offer her my arms, hoping it will make her create an illusion of us together.
Look in my heart, there is no confusion there
I am certain about my feelings and that I'll do anything for her.
Now that I'm loving, I'm living at last,
I'm happier and more alive now that I'm in love and have feelings for her.
My future just passed
I feel like for a moment I had a bright future with her, but it's now gone.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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