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.
Where Or When
Kay Starr Lyrics
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We looked at each other in the same way then,
But I can't remember where or when.
The clothes you're wearing are the clothes you wore.
The smile you were smiling you were smiling then,
But I can't remember where or when.
Seem to be happening again.
And so it seems that we have met before
And laughed before and loved before,
But who knows where or when?
Kay Starr's song "Where Or When" talks about the feeling of déjà vu or the feeling of having experienced something before even though you can't really remember when and where it happened. The first verse mentions that the two people in the song have stood and talked like this before and looked at each other in the same way then. The second verse mentions the clothes and smile worn then and now, but again, can't seem to remember the exact time when they first met. The third verse talks about how some things that happened for the first time seem to be happening again, which adds to the déjà vu feeling. The song ends with the idea that they might have met, laughed, and loved before but can't recall when and where it happened.
Line by Line Meaning
It seems we stood and talked like this before.
We have a strange sense of déjà vu, as if we've experienced this moment before.
We looked at each other in the same way then,
Our eye contact and expression of understanding is the same as it was in a previous meeting.
But I can't remember where or when.
Unfortunately, the exact place and time of our previous encounter remains elusive.
The clothes you're wearing are the clothes you wore.
Your apparel reminds me of what you wore when we last met.
The smile you were smiling you were smiling then,
The expression on your face seems identical to a prior moment in time.
But I can't remember where or when.
Although you seem familiar, I still cannot remember the exact moment we met.
Some things that happened for the first time
Certain events can feel new, even if they have already occurred before.
Seem to be happening again.
It's like the first occurrence is being repeated almost identically.
And so it seems that we have met before
Based on our interactions and emotions, it's highly probable that we've met and had some kind of relationship in the past.
And laughed before and loved before,
It's possible that we previously shared moments where we laughed and had love for one another.
But who knows where or when?
We cannot accurately determine the factual time and place where our relationship first bloomed.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Areta Zubiz
wonderful! thanks for the upload