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.
Stardust
Kay Starr Lyrics
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Steals across the meadows of my heart
High up in the sky the little stars climb
Always reminding me that we're apart
You wander down the lane and far away
Leaving me a song that will not die
Love is now the stardust of yesterday
The music of the years gone by.
Sometimes I wonder, how I spend
The lonely nights
Dreaming of a song
The melody
Haunts my reverie
And I am once again with you
When our love was new
And each kiss an inspiration
But that was long ago
And now my consolation is in the stardust of a song
Besides the garden wall, when stars are bright
You are in my arms
The nightingale
Tells his fairytale
Of paradise, where roses grew
Though I dream in vain
In my heart it will remain
My stardust melody
The memory of love's refrain.
The lyrics of Kay Starr's song, Stardust, are a hauntingly beautiful depiction of a lover's longing, lamenting the passing of time- when love was new, fresh and exhilarating. The song begins with a picturesque description of dusk falling upon the meadows of the singer's heart, and the little stars climbing high up in the sky, serving as a melancholic reminder of a distance that separates the lovers. The second stanza is a curious reflection upon how the singer spends her lonely nights, dreaming of a song and the memories it evokes. The melody is suggestive of her reverie, and when she is once again with the lover, the kisses are an inspiration, alluding to the melody that will ultimately haunt her.
The following stanza provides a rare moment of respite, as the singer reminisces of being in each other's arms, beyond the garden wall, where stars were bright, and the nightingale sang of paradise. The singer realizes that it was a long time ago, and that her consolation lies in the stardust of the song, the memory of love's refrain that will remain etched within her heart. The themes of time and distance are central to the song, as the singer weaves a tapestry of memories, a reflection of the past that shapes the present, making it even more poignant.
Line by Line Meaning
And now the purple dusk of twilight time
As the sun sets and the sky turns purple, I am reminded of my emotions and feelings.
Steals across the meadows of my heart
My heart is filled with emotions and feelings, and the twilight time intensifies them.
High up in the sky the little stars climb
Stars are visible in the sky and are a constant reminder of the physical distance between me and my lover.
Always reminding me that we're apart
The stars remind me of my lover, who is far away from me, and adds an additional layer of sadness to my emotions.
You wander down the lane and far away
My lover has left me and gone a long distance away from me.
Leaving me a song that will not die
The memory of my lover lingers in my mind, and the song that he sang to me remains forever.
Love is now the stardust of yesterday
The love that we had is now gone, and all that remains is a memory of our past.
The music of the years gone by.
The song remains as a reminder of the love that we shared in the past.
Sometimes I wonder, how I spend
I often question myself about how I spend my time.
The lonely nights
I spend my sleepless nights alone.
Dreaming of a song
I drift off into sleep, and I'm consumed by a melody.
The melody
The tune of the song stays with me, long after my dream.
Haunts my reverie
The song lingers in my mind, and I'm filled with sadness and longing, wishing I had someone to share it with.
And I am once again with you
In my dreams, I am reunited with my lover, and everything feels right again.
When our love was new
These dreams transport me back to a time when my lover and I were just starting our romantic journey together.
And each kiss an inspiration
Each kiss we shared inspired us to fall more and more in love with each other every day.
But that was long ago
But those memories are from the distant past.
And now my consolation is in the stardust of a song
The song remains as my only source of solace as I cope with the loss of my love.
Besides the garden wall, when stars are bright
Next to the garden wall, under the starry night sky, I'm reminded of my lover.
You are in my arms
In my thoughts, I'm holding onto my lover, as if he was right there with me.
The nightingale
As I sit and dream, the nightingale's song fills the air, which adds to my melancholy mood.
Tells his fairytale
The nightingale's song tells tales of magical places, and it adds a layer of escapism to my dreams.
Of paradise, where roses grew
The nightingale's song speaks of a utopian paradise where roses bloom everywhere.
Though I dream in vain
Even though I know the reality of the situation, I continue to dream and yearn for my lover.
In my heart it will remain
Even if my lover is not with me, the memories of our times together will always stay in my heart.
My stardust melody
The song that my lover used to sing to me is like the stardust that fills the sky, and it remains a source of comfort in my times of sadness.
The memory of love's refrain.
The tune still resonates with me, and it serves as a reminder of the love that we shared in the past.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CHRISTOPHER GENTRY, JOHN HUTCHINSON DEAN, MATTHEW EVERITT, SIMON IAN WHITE, STUART BLACK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
John Benn
Wonderful version of one of the truly greatest tunes ever composed! Well done.