Shirley Luster was born in Springfield, Illinois, and moved with her family to Decatur, Illinois, when she was three years old. She began to sing with the Decatur-based Bill Oetzel Orchestra at thirteen. While attending Decatur High School she appeared with Oetzel and his society band, the Ben Bradley Band, and Bill Madden's Band. After high school she moved to Chicago, changed her name to Sharon Leslie, and sang with a group led by Boyd Raeburn. Later she joined Benny Strong's band. In 1944, Strong's band moved to New York at the same time Christy was quarantined in Chicago with scarlet fever.
In 1945, after hearing that Anita O'Day had left Stan Kenton's Orchestra, she auditioned and was chosen for the role as a vocalist. During this time, she changed her name once again, becoming June Christy.
Her voice produced successful hits such as "Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy," the million-selling "Tampico" in 1945, and "How High the Moon". "Tampico" was Kenton's biggest-selling record. When the Kenton Band temporarily disbanded in 1948, she sang in nightclubs for a short time, and reunited with the band two years later in 1950.
Beginning Sept. 28, 1959, Christy began a five-week road tour of 38 performances called "Road Show". The all-star billing: Stan Kenton and his orchestra, June Christy, The Four Freshmen. Capitol recorded highlights on October 10 at Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana, for a two-disc LP, reissued in 1991 on CD.
From 1947, she started to work on her own records, primarily with arranger and bandleader Pete Rugolo. In 1954, she released a 10" LP entitled Something Cool, recorded with Rugolo and his orchestra, a gathering of notable Los Angeles jazz musicians that included her husband, multi-instrumentalist Bob Cooper and alto saxophonist Bud Shank. Something Cool was re-released as a 12" LP in 1955 with additional selections, and then entirely rerecorded in stereo in 1960 with a somewhat different personnel. Christy would later say that the album was "the only thing I've recorded that I'm not unhappy with." Something Cool was also important in launching the vocal cool movement of the 1950s, and it hit the Top 20 Charts, as did her third album, The Misty Miss Christy.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Christy appeared on a number of television programs, including the short-lived CBS show Adventures in Jazz (1949), Eddie Condon's Floor Show (1949), The Jackie Gleason Show (1953), The Tonight Show (1955), The Nat King Cole Show (1957), Stars of Jazz (1958), The Steve Allen Show (1959), The Lively Ones (1963). and The Joey Bishop Show (1967). She also appeared on the first sponsored jazz concert on television, The Timex All-Star Jazz Show I (December 30, 1957), which also featured Louis Armstrong, Carmen McRae, Duke Ellington and Gene Krupa.
Christy embarked on dozens of concert tours, playing in Europe, South Africa, Australia and Japan. She toured to such an extent that eventually it began taking a toll on her marriage. She began to pull back from touring in the early 1960s.
R.M. Cook and Brian Morton, writers of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings, appreciated the singer's body of work: "Christy's wholesome but particularly sensuous voice is less an improviser's vehicle than an instrument for long, controlled lines and the shading of a fine vibrato. Her greatest moments—the heartbreaking 'Something Cool' itself, 'Midnight Sun,' 'I Should Care'—are as close to creating definitive interpretations as any singer can come."
Christy semi-retired from the music business in 1969, in part due to her battle with alcoholism.
In 1972, she sang at the Newport Jazz Festival in New York City, where she was reunited with the Kenton Orchestra. She also performed at a handful of jazz festivals during the late 1970s and 1980s, playing with a band of all-star West Coast jazz musicians led by Shorty Rogers, as well as taking part in a number of world tours.
Christy returned to the recording studio in 1977 to record her final solo LP, Impromptu. She recorded an interview for a Paul Cacia produced an album in 1987 called "The Alumni Tribute to Stan Kenton" on the Happy Hour label. A number of other Kenton the alumni-Shorty Rogers, Lee Konitz, Jack Sheldon, among them, plus Mort Sahl - interspersed their tunes with reminiscences of the man and the years on the road.
Christy toured one final time in 1988, again with Shorty Rogers. Her final performance was sharing the stage with Chet Baker.
Christy died at her home in Sherman Oaks, California of kidney failure on June 21, 1990, at the age of 64. Her remains were cremated and scattered off the coast of Marina Del Rey.
Bei Mir Bist du Schön
June Christy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Until I first met you, I was lonesome
And when you came in sight, dear, my heart grew light
And this old world seemed new to me
You're really swell, I have to admit you
Deserve expressions that really fit you
And so I've racked my brain, hoping to explain
Bei mir bist do schon, please let me explain
Bei mir bist do schon means you're grand
Bei mir bist do schon, again I'll explain
It means you're the fairest in the land
I could say "Bella, bella", even "sehr wunderbar"
Each language only helps me tell you how grand you are
I've tried to explain, bei mir bist do schon
So kiss me and say you understand
Bei mir bist do schon, you've heard it all before
but let me try to explain
Bei mir bist do schon means that you're grand
Bei mir bist do schon, it's such an old refrain
and yet I should explain
It means I am begging for your hand
I could say "Bella, bella", even "sehr wunderbar"
Each language only helps me tell you how grand you are
I could say "Bella, bella", even "sehr wunderbar"
Each language only helps me tell you how grand you are
I've tried to explain, bei mir bist do schon
So kiss me and say that you will understand
June Christy's song "Bei Mir Bist du Schön" is a love song that celebrates the uniqueness of a lover. The lyrics describe the emotional transformation the singer has experienced since meeting their lover. The song highlights the greatness of the lover, explaining the lengths the singer has gone through to articulate how fantastic their lover is. The song opens with the singer acknowledging their loneliness from past relationships until meeting the person they are currently singing about. When the lover comes into sight, the singer's heart grows lighter, and the world feels new again. The singer goes ahead to shower their lover with compliments, describing their partner as the fairest in the land, using languages such as "bella, bella" and "sehr wunderbar" to explain how grand they are. The song title, "Bei Mir Bist du Schön," is a Yiddish phrase that translates to "To Me, You're Beautiful."
The chorus of the song, "Bei Mir Bist du Schön," is repeated at intervals throughout the song. Although it is a love song, it has a slightly traditional feel. The singer implores their lover to kiss them and make them understand their feelings. The song became especially popular in the United States among jazz musicians during the 1930s.
Line by Line Meaning
Of all the boys I've known, and I've known some
I have met many boys before you
Until I first met you, I was lonesome
I was lonely before I met you
And when you came in sight, dear, my heart grew light
When I saw you, my heart felt happy and light
And this old world seemed new to me
Seeing you made the world feel new and fresh to me
You're really swell, I have to admit you
I confess that I think you are really great
Deserve expressions that really fit you
You deserve words that describe you perfectly
And so I've racked my brain, hoping to explain
I have thought hard about how to express my feelings
All the things that you do to me
All the ways that you affect me and make me feel
Bei mir bist do schon, please let me explain
Let me explain what 'bei mir bist do schon' means
Bei mir bist do schon means you're grand
'Bei mir bist do schon' means that you are wonderful
Bei mir bist do schon, again I'll explain
Let me explain again what 'bei mir bist do schon' means
It means you're the fairest in the land
It means you are the most beautiful person around
I could say 'Bella, bella', even 'sehr wunderbar'
I could say 'beautiful, beautiful', even 'very wonderful'
Each language only helps me tell you how grand you are
No matter what language I use, I cannot fully express how amazing you are
Bei mir bist do schon, you've heard it all before
You have heard the phrase 'bei mir bist do schon' before
But let me try to explain
But let me try to clarify its true meaning
It's such an old refrain and yet I should explain
Even though it is a common phrase, I should still explain what it truly means
It means I am begging for your hand
It means that I want to marry you and spend my life with you
I've tried to explain, bei mir bist do schon
I have attempted to express my feelings using the phrase 'bei mir bist do schon'
So kiss me and say that you will understand
Please kiss me and tell me that you understand my love for you
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: JACOB JACOBS, SAMMY CAHN, SAUL CHAPLIN, SHALOM SECUNDA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind