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.
We Three
Kay Starr Lyrics
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Living in a memory
My echo, my shadow, and me
We three, we're not a crowd
We're not even company
My echo and this is my shadow, and me
The silvery moonlight that shines above
I walk with my shadow, I talk with my echo
Where is the one I love
We three, we'll wait for you
Even till eternity
My echo, my shadow, and me
What good is that moonlight
That silvery moonlight that shines from up above
I walk with my shadow, I talk with my echo
Where is the one that I love
We three, we'll wait for you
Even till eternity
My echo, my shadow, and me
Kay Starr's song "We Three" is a bittersweet song that talks about being alone and missing someone. The lyrics talk about the singer and her two constant companions, her "echo" and "shadow." These companions are metaphors for the loneliness that the singer is experiencing. She is living in a memory, which is another metaphor for the past, and as she walks she is accompanied by her shadow and the sound of her voice echoing back to her.
The singer is missing someone, and in the song, she questions the purpose of the moon, which is shining above her. She talks to her shadow and echo, wishing that she could see and talk to the person she loves instead. However, despite the loneliness, the singer remains hopeful and optimistic, promising to wait for the person she loves even until eternity.
Overall, "We Three" is a poignant song that captures the emotions of longing and loneliness. The use of the shadows and echoes as metaphors is an excellent way to represent the feeling of being alone, while the hope that the singer holds onto shows that even amidst sadness, positivity can still exist.
Line by Line Meaning
We three, we're all alone
The singer is stating that she is currently without companionship.
Living in a memory
The singer is currently living in the memory of a past moment or relationship.
My echo, my shadow, and me
The only companionship the singer feels at the moment are her own echo and shadow, which she metaphorically refers to as entities.
We three, we're not a crowd
The singer is stating that her echo and shadow are not enough to fill the void of true companionship.
We're not even company
The singer is emphasizing that her current state of companionship is practically non-existent.
My echo and this is my shadow, and me
The singer reiterates the fact that her only companionship is her own echo and shadow.
What good is the moonlight
The singer is questioning the significance of the moonlight.
The silvery moonlight that shines above
The singer is referring to the light of the moon, which contributes nothing to her current situation of loneliness.
I walk with my shadow, I talk with my echo
The singer is essentially saying that her own echo and her shadow are the only things she has to interact with.
Where is the one I love
The singer expresses dismay over not having the presence of the one she loves to share her time with.
We three, we'll wait for you
The singer indicates that she, her echo, and her shadow are waiting for the one she loves to join them.
Even till eternity
The singer emphasizes the eternity of their wait until the one she loves joins them.
My echo, my shadow, and me
The singer reiterates the fact that she currently has no companionship other than herself.
Writer(s): Sammy Mysels, Nelson Cogane, Dick Robertson
Contributed by Caleb K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.