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.
Sunday
Kay Starr Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A love that will last past Saturday night
And I've got to know it's more than love at first sight
I want a Sunday kind of love
I want a love that's on the square
Can't seem to find somebody, someone to care
And I'm on a lonely road that leads me nowhere
I do all my Sunday dreaming and all my Sunday scheming
Every minute, every hour, every day
And I'm hoping to discover a certain kind of lover
Who will show me the way
And my arms need someone to enfold, to keep me warm
When those Mondays and Tuesdays grow cold
And I need a love for all my life, to have and to hold
I want a Sunday kind of love, oh yeah
I don't want a Monday or a Tuesday
Wednesday or Thursday, Friday or Saturday
I don't want nothing baby
But I want a Sunday kind of love
Kay Starr's "A Sunday Kind of Love" is a song about longing for a love that is reliable, loyal, and trustworthy. The singer of the song wants a love that is solid enough to last beyond one wild night of passion, and is looking for someone who truly cares for her. She is tired of being alone and wandering in search of a meaningful connection, and is hoping that the universe will bring her "a certain kind of lover” who can show her the way towards finding that special someone.
Throughout the lyrics, the singer emphasizes the need for a love that is genuine and authentic, rather than just something that is rooted purely in physical attraction. She sings about how she dreams of finding someone who will keep her warm on the cold days of the week, and who will be there for her through thick and thin. The song is a powerful declaration of the singer's desire to find a love that is all-encompassing and everlasting.
Overall, the lyrics of "A Sunday Kind of Love" tell a story of longing and hope, and speak to the universal experience of searching for love and companionship in our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
I want a Sunday kind of love
I want a love that is deep and meaningful, and lasts beyond Saturday night. A Sunday love signifies a love that is real and enduring.
I want a love that's on the square
I want a love that is honest and genuine, that is based on sincerity and trust. I don't want a love that's based on lies and deception.
And I'm on a lonely road that leads me nowhere
I feel lost and alone, and I don't know where I'm going. I need someone to show me the way, to provide me with direction and purpose.
I do all my Sunday dreaming and all my Sunday scheming
Every minute, every hour, every day
I spend all my time dreaming and planning, imagining a life filled with love and happiness. I constantly think about finding that special someone who will make my dreams come true.
And I'm hoping to discover a certain kind of lover
Who will show me the way
I'm looking for a lover who will be my guide, who will show me what it means to truly love and be loved. I want someone who can lead me to happiness and fulfillment.
And my arms need someone to enfold, to keep me warm
When those Mondays and Tuesdays grow cold
I need someone to hold, someone to keep me warm when the world gets cold and lonely. I want someone to share my life with, to be my comfort and my solace.
And I need a love for all my life, to have and to hold
I want a Sunday kind of love, oh yeah
I want a love that will be with me for the rest of my life, to have and to hold. I want a love that is pure and true, like a Sunday kind of love.
I don't want a Monday or a Tuesday
Wednesday or Thursday, Friday or Saturday
I don't want nothing baby
But I want a Sunday kind of love
I don't want a love that is fleeting or superficial, that only lasts for a day or a night. I want a love that is real and enduring, like a Sunday kind of love.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ANITA NYE, BARBARA BELLE, LOUIS PRIMA, STANLEY RHODES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@fromthesidelines
Recorded in 1946 for Lamplighter records, with Barney Bigard's studio band. Several LP reissues of this track in the '50s and early '60s were usually smothered in "echo chambers" and reverb.....terrible!
@mark3harris
my mum had the lp with all the echo, i used to ask her to play this track over and over again when i was 4 years old. just hearing this tune made me think of my mum and cry.