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.
What Goes Up Must Come Down
Kay Starr Lyrics
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You're carefree as a bird in the sky
But what goes up must come down
And, Baby, you've been flying too high
It's all over town, you're chasing around
But I'm not gonna sit home and cry
Remember what goes up must come down
You ought to get your walkin' papers
But now it's too late
Because I know you too well
When you're through cuttin' capers
You break down my gate
To ring my front door bell
So go have your fling, and don't miss a thing
I'll see you down to earth by and by
Remember what goes up must come down
And, Baby, you've been flying too high
In Kay Starr's song "What Goes Up Must Come Down," the singer laments her lover's carefree behavior and infidelity. The opening lines describe her lover's lack of attention towards her, not even bothering to call her. Kay Starr then reminds her partner that the saying "what goes up must come down" holds true, and that his free-spirited behavior will come to bite him sooner or later.
The following verse sees Kay Starr informing her partner that his straying ways are widely known in the town, yet she will not succumb to despair. She reminds him that everything has a consequence and his actions will catch up with him eventually. In the final verse, the singer sarcastically encourages her lover to "get his walking papers" but admits that it is already too late for it. She knows him well enough to anticipate his apology and attempts at reconciliation, but is wary of his sabotaging ways. The song concludes with a note of caution - Kay Starr warns her partner that his high-flying ways won't last forever and that he'll hit rock-bottom soon.
Line by Line Meaning
You leave me alone, you don't even phone
You've abandoned me and don't bother checking in
You're carefree as a bird in the sky
You're living your life with no worries or responsibilities
But what goes up must come down
Everything has its peak and downfall
And, Baby, you've been flying too high
You've reached your peak and are headed towards a downfall
It's all over town, you're chasing around
Your promiscuity is well-known to everyone
But I'm not gonna sit home and cry
I'm not going to let your actions affect me
Remember what goes up must come down
Again, everything has its peak and downfall
And, Baby, you've been flying too high
Your downfall is imminent
You ought to get your walkin' papers
You should leave and never come back
But now it's too late
It's too late for you to make amends or change your ways
Because I know you too well
I know the real you and what you're capable of
When you're through cuttin' capers
When you're done playing around
You break down my gate, to ring my front door bell
You come back to me when your fling is over
So go have your fling, and don't miss a thing
Go do what you want, live your life, and have fun
I'll see you down to earth by and by
At some point, reality will catch up to you
Remember what goes up must come down
Once again, everything has its peak and downfall
And, Baby, you've been flying too high
Your downfall is inevitable
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: RUBE BLOOM, TED KOEHLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind