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.
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
June Christy Lyrics
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But I hate to lose you
You got me in between the devil and the
Deep blue sea
I forgive you
'Cause I can't forget you
You've got me in between the devil and the
I want to cross you off my list
But when you come knocking at my door
Fate seems to give my heart a twist
And I come running back for more
I should hate you
But I guess I love you
You've got me in between the devil and the
Deep blue sea
The lyrics of "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" by June Christy talks about the dilemma of being caught in a relationship that is both harmful and irresistible. She expresses how she does not want to be with the person she's involved with, but at the same time, cannot seem to let go of them. The metaphor used in the title suggests being stuck between two unappealing choices, both of which carry their own respective dangers.
The lines "I want to cross you off my list, but when you come knocking at my door, fate seems to give my heart a twist, and I come running back for more" show how difficult it is to free oneself from this predicament. Even though she acknowledges that her lover is not good for her, she finds herself unable to turn away from the magnetic attraction that pulls her back. The lyrics describe a struggle to break free from a toxic relationship, but also an inability to fully let go.
Overall, "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" conveys a sense of being caught between two opposing choices- the devil being the attraction to the person who is bad for you, and the deep blue sea representing the fear and uncertainty of being alone. It shows the internal conflict that one faces when they cannot decide whether to stay or move on.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't want you
I do not want to be with you
But I hate to lose you
But I am afraid of losing what we have
You got me in between the devil and the
You have left me in a difficult and uncomfortable situation
Deep blue sea
With no easy solution or escape
I forgive you
I choose to forgive you
'Cause I can't forget you
Because I am unable to forget about you
You've got me in between the devil and the
You have put me in a difficult position
Deep blue sea
With no clear resolution or solution in sight
I want to cross you off my list
I want to forget about you and move on
But when you come knocking at my door
But when you come back into my life
Fate seems to give my heart a twist
Destiny seems to pull me back towards you
And I come running back for more
And I find myself returning to you again
I should hate you
I logically should hate you
But I guess I love you
But somehow I still have feelings for you
You've got me in between the devil and the
You have left me in a troubled and confusing place
Deep blue sea
With no clear way out or resolution
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, S.A. MUSIC
Written by: HAROLD ARLEN, TED KOEHLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind