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.
Noah!
Kay Starr Lyrics
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Afloat in darkest space.
And every creature lives his time
And knows his special place
And each of us is Noah
With a life all in our care
To keep against the darkness
We've got to walk with the lion,
Soar with the eagle,
Sing with the nightingale
And live in love and peace.
The times have made us fearful
And our fears have brought the tears
The loneliness and darkness
Have grown bitter with the years
But a light is just beyond us
and the children almost see
A world that we've forgotten
And the world they want to be
When we walk with the lion,
Soar with the eagle,
Sing with the nightingale
And live in love and peace.
The ark is getting crowded now
And each of us must know
When everything is finished here
There's no where else to go.
The beasts are here to bless us
And the faith is in their eyes
That we can find the garden
And see that sweet dawn rise
And we can walk with the lion,
Soar with the eagle,
Sing with the nightingale
and live in love and peace.
We've got to walk with the lion,
Soar with the eagle,
Sing with the nightingale
And live in love and peace.
The song "Noah" by Kay Starr speaks about the world being a tiny blue-green ark floating in dark space, and every creature having its own place and time. The lyrics refer to every one of us being like Noah, responsible for caring for the life we have been given, against the darkness that seems to flood everywhere. The first verse emphasizes the importance of understanding that we all have a role to play on this planet, and we must take care of it. The latter part of the verse speaks about the global climate crisis, and how the darkness of pollution, global warming, and environmental disasters are enveloping our planet.
The second verse talks about living in fear and loneliness that has grown bitter with the years. The lyrics emphasize that although we live in a world filled with darkness, there is always hope for a brighter future. The light is "just beyond us," and children almost see it, referencing that it is the responsibility of the younger generation to take charge and work towards a more balanced world. The chorus pulls together the themes of the song, encouraging us to "walk with the lion, soar with the eagle, sing with the nightingale, and live in love and peace." The repetition of this stanza emphasizes the message, encouraging listeners to strive for a world where every living being co-exists peacefully.
Line by Line Meaning
The world's a tiny blue-green ark
The world is like a small boat in space which is home to all life
Afloat in darkest space.
It is floating around in the infinite darkness of space
And every creature lives his time
Every creature has a lifespan unique to them
And knows his special place
And has a specific role in the world
And each of us is Noah
Every person is responsible for taking care of the world as if they were Noah building the ark
With a life all in our care
Each person has their own life that they must take care of
To keep against the darkness
To protect ourselves from the darkness that is present everywhere
That's flooding everywhere
That is engulfing our world
We've got to walk with the lion,
We must learn to coexist with wild animals and other forces of nature
Soar with the eagle,
We must also learn to use the power of birds like eagles to our advantage
Sing with the nightingale
We have to connect with nature in such a way that we become one with it and there is harmony
And live in love and peace.
We can only succeed if we live in a world with love and peace for all
The times have made us fearful
Times are so tough that we are scared for the future
And our fears have brought the tears
Our fears are causing us to get emotional and cry
The loneliness and darkness
The lack of connection and the omnipresent darkness
Have grown bitter with the years
Have become more and more painful as time passes
But a light is just beyond us
There is hope just around the corner
and the children almost see
The children are already starting to see this hope and better future
A world that we've forgotten
A world that has been ruined and forgotten by us adults
And the world they want to be
The world they want to live in, the world that wasn't ruined yet
The ark is getting crowded now
The earth is becoming overpopulated and there is simply no space left
And each of us must know
We must understand
When everything is finished here
Once the earth is completely ruined
There's no where else to go.
There would be nowhere else to live
The beasts are here to bless us
Animals are here to bless us and coexist with us
And the faith is in their eyes
We can tell from their eyes that they have faith in humanity and our capability to fix things
That we can find the garden
We can create a world akin to a garden
And see that sweet dawn rise
And enjoy a new beginning
We've got to walk with the lion,
Again
Soar with the eagle,
we need to learn from and utilize the power of nature
Sing with the nightingale
We must continue to coexist with nature and appreciate its beauty
And live in love and peace.
We must coexist with one another with love and peace
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOSEPH G RAPOSO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
tholu67
The song title is "Noah!". The Single is included in her Capitol compilation Lp "One More Time".
Mark Alexander
This may dad's favorite song when he was in high school back in NJ.
Lesley Findlay
This song is not Noah, it is Oh, Let it Rain by the wonderful Kay Starr. She will be missed.
george glenn
It's on the album, One More Time, Noah!.
Croonr1
Thanks for sharing but the label credit is "Noah!"