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.
Riffin
Kay Starr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And right into the fire
When I lost me a cheatin' man
And got a no-count liar
Swapped the old one for a new one
Now the new one's breakin' my heart
I jumped out of the tryin' pan
And right into the fire
In Kay Starr's hit song "Riffin," the lyrics speak of a woman who has left her cheating man only to find herself with a new lover who is just as unfaithful. The first line "I jumped out of the frying pan and right into the fire" is a common idiom that means to escape one bad situation only to end up in another. This implies that her new lover is just as unhealthy for her as her old one. The phrase "lost me a cheatin' man and got a no-count liar" shows the woman's frustration over the fact that she has gone from bad to worse in terms of her love life. The phrase "Swapped the old one for a new one, now the new one's breakin' my heart," suggests that the woman thought that she was upgrading and moving up in the world when she found her new lover, but unfortunately, it turned out to be disappointing, as well.
The refrain, "I jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire" is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing the woman's realization that she keeps making the same mistake over and over again with her romantic choices. The use of the phrase "Lord, right into the fire" suggests that the woman may be praying for help or seeking someone to save her from her misery.
Overall, "Riffin" is a song that speaks to the listener’s sense of vulnerability in relationships and romantic situations. It is a story of a woman who knows her worth, yet is caught in a cycle of unhealthy relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
I jumped out of the fryin' pan
I escaped from a difficult situation
And right into the fire
But ended up in an even worse situation
When I lost me a cheatin' man
My previous partner was unfaithful
And got a no-count liar
But my new partner is unreliable
Swapped the old one for a new one
I ended the previous relationship and started a new one
Now the new one's breakin' my heart
But my new partner is causing me emotional pain
I jumped out of the tryin' pan
I thought I was escaping my problems
And right into the fire
But instead I found myself in a worse situation
Lord, right into the fire
I am regretful of my choices
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: FORD LEE BUCK, BENNY GOODMAN, DICK MC DONOUGH, JOHNNY MERCER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Koalkracker
Well, the day isn't lost when one can learn something. Found out that the lyrics to the song "Riffin' The Scotch" doesn't ever mention those three words throughout the song ...
Lyrics
I jumped out of the fryin' pan
And right into the fire
When I lost me a cheatin' man
And got a no-count liar
Swapped the old one for a new one
Now the new one's breakin' my heart
I jumped out of the tryin' pan
And right into the fire
Lord, right into the fire