nature boy

Bea Booze  - ‘See See Rider Blues’ (1943)

Kay Starr -  ’ I Really Don’t Want To Know’ (1962)

Damn.damn.damn.damn. damn.

maximiliani:

Kay Starr - ‘Maybe You’ll Be There’ (1947)

Composed by Rube Bloom, lyrics by Sammy Gallop.

I’ve posted this before (at least twice) because I’m a masochist.

However I can’t do a Kay Starr showcase for the month of December without posting this song again. Listen to the lyrics. They generally apply to a broken relationship, that a man cheated on her and has left her for someone else. Looking at it that way, the narrator keeps hoping they’ll see that person in the crowd or they’ll eventually change their mind and come home. It’s pretty standard standards fare if looked at that way.

However for a second interpretation, take into account that WWII was going on when this was first composed and published (1947), it was almost over but the soldiers weren’t all home, not just yet anyway. This is where if you look at the song from the perspective of a woman waiting for their husband, fiance, boyfriend, any of them to come home back to her, the  song takes on new meaning. The narrator’s lovelorn compulsion to search crowds in public places (bus, train stations and stops perhaps?) for them makes a bit more sense. Think Vivian Leigh in the WWI film Waterloo Bridge.

The lyrics change, it isn’t another woman that’s standing in between her and her soldier’s promises, but the actual war.It takes on much deeper meaning and sentiment. The ending

Someday when all my prayers are answered

I’ll hear your footstep on my stair

With anxious heart I’ll hurry to the door

and maybe you’ll be there

Is perhaps one of the prettiest and saddest lyrics I’ve encountered. The  song also can still be used for those who have loved ones deployed out in warzones today too. Technology has helped eliminate some of the uncertainty and lack of communication between soldiers and family that was present in the 1940’s but by all means the anxiety of having people you love fighting far away and putting themselves at risk is still very much alive and present today.

Charlie Haden feat. Petra, Tanya, and Rachel Haden - ‘Oh Take Me Back’ (2008)

Kay Starr - Frying Pan (Riffin’ The Scotch)

Kay Starr - ‘Honey’ (1940-1947?)

artskooldamage:

Kay Starr 1960 > “Losers Weepers” > Vintage Kitsch 

The second half of Nov into Dec shall be dedicated to Kay Starr on this blog. She’s perhaps one of the most unique and compelling vocalists of the 20th century and yet, also extremely underrated, her library of material not played as often as it should be or her name known. But she should. In fact jazz legend Billie Holiday was quoted as saying that Starr was” the only white woman who could sing the blues,” which all things considered, is a huge compliment.

If you haven’t heard of her, you may have heard her before without knowing it in pretty popular renditions of the Christmas songs ‘Waiting For The Man With The Bag” and “I’ve got My Love To Keep Me Warm”, both have modern remixes that are used a lot in holiday marketing. She was and is (and at age eighty-nine she is still living and performing, one of the few singers from the thirties and forties still around to do so) a versatile singer with a unique voice who could sing swing jazz, blues, honky-tonk, western swing, country and genre hopping pop. Born in Oklahoma, her father was a full blooded Iroquois Native American, and her mother was of mixed Native American and Irish heritage. Thus, to my knowledge this makes Kay Starr perhaps the most successful Native American performer to date. That alone demands respect.

I will posting hand picked songs from her discography to share throughout the rest of the month and December.

Kay Starr & Tennessee Ernie - ‘I’ll Never Be Free’ (1951)

Tennessee Ernie & Kay Starr ~ Oceans of Tears (1951)

Kay Starr - ‘Do I Worry?’ (1958)  

And when evening shadows creep…

Bessie Smith - Back Water Blues (1927)

I’ve always liked this photo. No reason. Just do. Grandmother in the sunglasses, and my Aunt is little girl on the left. Late 50’s to early 60’s.