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.
Rock and Roll Waltz
Kay Starr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Slipped out of my shoes at the door
Then from the front room, I heard a jump tune
I looked in and here's what I saw
There in the night was a wonderful scene
Mom was dancing with dad to my record machine
And while they danced, only one thing was wrong
One, two, and then rock
One, two, and then roll
They did the rock and roll waltz
Rock, two, three, roll, two, three
It looked so cute to me
I love the rock and roll waltz
One, two, and then rock
One, two, and then roll
One, two, and then jump
It's good for your soul
It's old but it's new
Let's do the rock and roll waltz
There in the night was a wonderful scene
Mom was dancing with dad to my record machine
And while they danced, only one thing was wrong
They were trying to waltz to a rock and roll song
One, two, and then rock
One, two, and then roll
One, two, and then jump
It's good for your soul
It's old but it's new
Let's do the rock and roll waltz
Let's do the rock and roll waltz
Kay Starr's song Rock and Roll Waltz tells a charming story about a young girl coming home one night to find her parents dancing together to her record machine in the front room. The scene was so perfect and romantic that the girl couldn't help but watch with delight. The only misstep was that her parents were trying to waltz to a rock and roll song, and they looked adorable trying to make it work. The chorus lyrics are upbeat and catchy, instructing listeners to do the rock and roll waltz with its three steps: one, two, and then rock, one, two, and then roll, and one, two, and then jump.
The song reflects the emergence of rock and roll music and culture in the 1950s, and the mix of styles and generations in the scene echoes the blending of old and new in the era. The lyrics demonstrate the power of music to unite people and bridge differences, drawing the girl and her parents together in a moment of joy and connection. The use of the personal pronoun "me" in the third person suggests a sense of distance or detachment from the scene, as if the girl is watching it from outside herself. However, the use of the present tense and the vivid imagery suggest a sense of intimacy and immediacy in the memory.
Line by Line Meaning
One night I was late, came home from a date
I came home late one night after going out on a date
Slipped out of my shoes at the door
I quietly removed my shoes as I entered my house
Then from the front room, I heard a jump tune
I heard upbeat music playing from the living room
I looked in and here's what I saw
I peeked into the living room to see what was happening
There in the night was a wonderful scene
I saw a lovely sight in the darkness of the night
Mom was dancing with dad to my record machine
My parents were dancing to music from my record player
And while they danced, only one thing was wrong
The only problem was that they were trying to waltz to a rock and roll song
They were trying to waltz to a rock and roll song
My parents were attempting to dance a waltz to a fast-paced rock and roll song
One, two, and then rock
The song had a beat that went one and two, followed by a rock beat
One, two, and then roll
After the rock beat, there was a roll beat
They did the rock and roll waltz
Despite the mismatched beats, my parents improvised a dance that combined waltz and rock and roll steps
Rock, two, three, roll, two, three
The unique dance steps involved rocking and rolling to a specific beat
It looked so cute to me
I found their improvised dance to be adorable
I love the rock and roll waltz
I enjoyed watching my parents' improvised dance moves
One, two, and then jump
The song also had a jump beat in addition to the rock and roll beats
It's good for your soul
The energetic dance moves were great for the spirit
It's old but it's new
The dance combined elements from both old-style waltz and new-style rock and roll music
Let's do the rock and roll waltz
The singer encourages people to try out this fun and unique dance move
Lyrics © JONROY MUSIC COMPANY, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Roy Alfred, Shorty Allen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jeanrock8551
Who is STILL listening to Kay Starr in 2024?!❤ Reminds me of my Dad, love you and miss you so much every day Daddy ❤
@jamesryhal143
I'm an 81 year old man and I first heard this when I was 12 and near my 13th birthday. I ❤
@hollywoodbot2318
Tears in my eyes as I remember my grandad and Nan dancing to this. Unfortunately my grandad has passed away when I was hospital so I never got to say goodbye but I’m grateful to him for leaving this memory❤❤❤
@BigCarSmallSuv
On crip?
@hollywoodbot2318
@@BigCarSmallSuv ?
@5telaine
❤❤
@thomastimlin1724
Same happened to my mother, her dad passed away just before she had my brother. she couldn't even go to the funeral. but your in good company with a lot of people, they know what you went through without ever meeting you.
@SuperLaiah
#RIP Kay Starr
She was of the most underrated, yet talented singers of all time and Kay will be deeply missed😇😇😭😭❤❤
@ferencmorvai5720
How could anybody forget Kate Starr? She was great when you listen to music like this everybody knows you’re old.😅❤❤❤
@Heisenbrick
She has such a powerful voice! Love her and Patsy Cline.