nature boy

Kay Starr - ‘I Ain’t Gonna Cry’ (1946)

Kay Starr - ‘Lonesome Road’ (1958)

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

 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 and the narrator keeps hoping they’ll see that person in the crowd or they’ll come home. Then take into account that WWII was going on when this was composed, it was almost over but not just yet. When looked at from the perspective of a woman waiting at home for their soldier to come home the song suddenly takes on a much deeper meaning.