Kay Starr (Katherine Laverne Starks, July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016) was … Read Full Bio ↴Kay Starr (Katherine Laverne Starks, July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016) was an American pop and jazz singer who enjoyed considerable success in the 1940s and 1950s.

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.

Powder Your Face With Sunshine
Kay Starr Lyrics

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Powder your face with sunshine
Put on a great big smile
Make up your eyes with laughter
Folks will be laughing with you in a little while

Whistle a tune of gladness
Gloom never was in style
The future's brighter

When hearts are lighter

Smile, smile, smile!

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Powder Your Face With Sunshine" by Kay Starr encourages listeners to adopt a positive mentality and uplift their spirits. It suggests that by putting on a smile and laughing, one can bring joy and happiness to others. The lyrics express that wearing a cheerful demeanor can be contagious and spread quickly to others. The song also suggests that one's perspective on life can greatly affect their future, and by adopting a positive attitude, things will undoubtedly look brighter. The line "make up your eyes with laughter" is a metaphor to convey how people can use laughter to mask their troubles and sorrows. By whistling a tune of gladness, one can replace negative thoughts with positive ones and banish gloominess. The ultimate message of the song is to smile often and spread happiness everywhere one goes.

Powder Your Face With SunshineKay Starr Lyrics

Powder Your Face With Sunshine
Kay Starr Lyrics