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.
Bewitched
June Christy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But a fool can have his charms
I'm in love and don't I show it
Like a babe in arms
Love's the same old sad sensation
Lately I've not slept a wink
Put me on the blink
I'm wild again
Beguiled again
A simpering whimpering child again
Bewitched bothered and bewildered am I
Couldn't sleep and wouldn't sleep
When love came and told me I shouldn't sleep
Bewitched bothered and bewildered am I
Lost my heart but what of it
He is cold I agree
He can laugh but I love it
Although the laugh's on me
I'll sing to him each spring to him
And long for the day when I'll cling to him
Bewitched bothered and bewildered am I
Men are not a new sensation
I've done pretty well I think
But this half-pint imitation
Put me on the blink
I've seen a lot
I mean a lot
But now I'm like sweet seventeen a lot
Bewitched bothered and bewildered am I
June Christy's song Bewitched Bothered And Bewildered primarily speaks about a woman's infatuation with someone who she knows is a fool, yet she can't help but be attracted to his charm. The lyrics highlight the way love can make one feel helpless and vulnerable. When the person you love is the object of your affection, you become a babbling, incoherent child that is smitten, and this is what the singer expresses when she says "Love's the same old sad sensation/Lately I've not slept a wink/Since this half-pint imitation/Put me on the blink."
The lyrics contain a sense of desperation when the singer expresses how she couldn't sleep and wouldn't sleep when love came along and told her she shouldn't sleep. This sense of tumultuous, head-over-heels adoration can make one feel like they have lost control of everything. There's a sense of longing when she says "I'll sing to him each spring to him/And long for the day when I'll cling to him." Despite the coldness and insensitivity of the person she longs for, she remains hopelessly attracted to him, as seen in the lyric, "Lost my heart but what of it/He is cold I agree/He can laugh but I love it/Although the laugh's on me." The song ultimately emphasizes the way one can become helplessly swept up in the thrill of wanting someone they know isn't good for them.
Line by Line Meaning
He's a fool and don't I know it
I am aware that he is a foolish man
But a fool can have his charms
Even though he is foolish, he still has attractive qualities
I'm in love and don't I show it
I am deeply in love with him and it is evident in my behavior
Like a babe in arms
My feelings for him are childish and innocent
Love's the same old sad sensation
Love is a recurring emotion that brings both joy and sorrow
Lately I've not slept a wink
Recently, I have been unable to sleep
Since this half-pint imitation
Ever since this small and insignificant person appeared in my life
Put me on the blink
They have thrown me off balance
I'm wild again
I am filled with intense emotions
Beguiled again
I am enchanted by this person once more
A simpering whimpering child again
I feel weak and vulnerable around them
Bewitched bothered and bewildered am I
I am under their spell, troubled, and confused
Couldn't sleep and wouldn't sleep
I was too restless and preoccupied to sleep
When love came and told me I shouldn't sleep
When I fell in love and realized that I should not ignore this emotion
Lost my heart but what of it
I have given my heart to him, even though he is not worthy
He is cold I agree
He is indifferent towards me and I acknowledge this
He can laugh but I love it
Even though his laughter is directed at me, I still find it endearing
Although the laugh's on me
Despite him laughing at my expense, I am still devoted to him
I'll sing to him each spring to him
I will express my love to him each year
And long for the day when I'll cling to him
I crave the moment when I will be able to hold him close
Men are not a new sensation
I have been in relationships with men before
I've done pretty well I think
I have had some success in my past relationships
But this half-pint imitation
However, this insignificant and inferior person has unsettled me
Put me on the blink
They have thrown me off balance
I've seen a lot
I have had a lot of life experiences
I mean a lot
And by a lot, I mean a considerable amount
But now I'm like sweet seventeen a lot
Despite my experiences, I feel youthful and naive again
Bewitched bothered and bewildered am I
I am under their spell, troubled, and confused
Lyrics © O/B/O DistroKid, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@skelaaderrab7982
He's a fool and don't I know it
But a fool can have his charms
I'm in love and don't I show it
Like a babe in arms
Love's the same old sad sensation
Lately I've not slept a wink
Since this half-pint imitation
Put me on the blink
I'm wild again
Beguiled again
A simpering whimpering child again
Bewitched bothered and bewildered am I
Couldn't sleep and wouldn't sleep
When love came and told me I shouldn't sleep
Bewitched bothered and bewildered am I
Lost my heart but what of it
He is cold I agree
He can laugh but I love it
Although the laugh's on me
I'll sing to him each spring to him
And long for the day when I'll cling to him
Bewitched bothered and bewildered am I
Men are not a new sensation
I've done pretty well I think
But this half-pint imitation
Put me on the blink
I've seen a lot
I mean a lot
But now I'm like sweet seventeen a lot
Bewitched bothered and bewildered am I
@robertrosenberg6900
She had a Pittsburgh connection
Hubby Coop and Safranski etc.
And I saw her there in clubs and at the universities.
Both her and her total opposite, Sassy bring tears to my eyes
Her understated fragility
Sarah overwhelming you With erotic swing
Par excellent.
Sarah I dreamed of
June was mine
Whispers of wonderful
Very moving
With Kenton and Rugolo
Unbeatable...gee
She makes my eyes water
Lost in a summer's night, daydream, interlude, lazy afternoon, this one
She died a very long and painful death
She deserved so much more
Duet w Kenton on piano is her masterpiece for me
June forever
@bennyjazzful
WOW WOW WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From a mad keen 76yo Aussie fan.
GOD---June is so BLOODY FANTASTIC....
@PetravanNuis
June owns this song! She mines emotional depths!
@ALJarman1
I just love this woman... I could never understand why she wasn't always mentioned "up there" with Billie and Sarah and Ella and Anita. That voice, and that delivery... the perfect example of the very best jazz has to offer. It's so great to read these comments and to know that so many others feel exactly the same. You listen, you marvel, and you fall in love. Thanks so much for posting this, one of the very best readings she ever put down.. and she told me that it was the first (and only) take!
@MarlaLukofsky7
I've recently discovered June Christy and her voice blows me away. She is in that special class of Anita O'Day, Jeri Southern, Chris Connor, and Doris Day. I could listen to June all day and night and never tire of her.
@scottluster4873
I wrote my Aunt June a letter back in about 1988, citing this song as my reason to defend forever her pitch, articulation, phrasing, and femininity as one of the very great jazz singers. Pure June, she seemed underwhelmed. Years later, I read that Frank Rosolino said of this cut, "It just ain't gonna get better than that. " June was so blasé and so superior, sometimes I feel frustrated. But at least I felt like somebody else (Frank)also really "got it." She taught me so much about the benefit of quality music, I will be forever grateful to the "West Coast Cool" school. She and my Uncle "Coop" just keep on giving. What a legacy :)
@Marcel_Audubon
a noble legacy you've inherited, Scott
@hebintn
I was about 10 when I first here this lady sing. I was hooked on her and jazz from then on. Isn't it wonderful that her music can live on.
@beeweatie
I've just discovered June Christy and I just love her voice. Its the dry cool in her voice that I care for. Saucy and magical. Thanks for posting this
@pepperwilliams4428
What a great singer she was! A very 'original' singer (unlike today's myriad of singers that all sound the same). She puts her whole soul into the lyrics!
@ronaldstrange8981
Never get tired of listening to June. Her voice was perfect. Is there a singer today to compare? I don't mean the current crop of screeching show it all sound the samers. Thank you so much for this. Here for as long as people appreciate good, quality singing.