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.
Dancing on the Ceiling
June Christy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Because a miracle
Has brought my lover to me
Though he's some other place, his face I see
At night I creep in bed
And never sleep in bed
But look above in the air
He dances overhead
On the ceiling near my bed
In my sight
Through the night
I try to hide in vain
Underneath my counterpane
But there's my love
Up above
I whisper, "Go away, my lover
It's not fair"
But I'm so grateful to discover
He's still there
I love my ceiling more
Since it is a dancing floor
Just for my love
The song "Dancing on the Ceiling" by June Christy is a romantic and dreamy piece that speaks of the beauty and wonder of love. The lyrics begin by describing the world as a lyrical place, thanks to the miracle that brought the singer's lover to her, even though he is not physically present with her. She recounts how she never sleeps in bed but looks up at the ceiling instead, where she sees her lover's face, dancing above her.
The singer acknowledges that she tries to hide, but it is all in sheer joy and wonder at the fact that her love is still there, watching over her. The singer admits that she loves her ceiling even more now, as it serves as her dancing floor, in a relationship that is solely between her and her lover.
The song's beauty lies in its imaginative nature - it presents a world where love is tangible even in its absence, where love finds a way to manifest itself even in the most unexpected places. The lyrics are insightful as they capture the essence of love and how it can make one feel, while the song itself serves as a celebration of the miraculous force that is love.
Line by Line Meaning
The world is lyrical
The world is full of wonder and beauty
Because a miracle
Because something amazing has happened
Has brought my lover to me
Has brought the person I love into my life
Though he's some other place, his face I see
Although we are physically apart, I feel close to him
At night I creep in bed
At night I lie down in bed
And never sleep in bed
But I can't sleep
But look above in the air
But instead of sleeping, I look up at the ceiling
And to my greatest joy, my love is there
And I feel happy because I imagine my lover with me
He dances overhead
I imagine him joyfully moving around above me
On the ceiling near my bed
On the ceiling, which is like a dance floor for him
In my sight
I can see him in my mind's eye
Through the night
All through the night, even when I can't sleep
I try to hide in vain
I try to hide my feelings, but it's useless
Underneath my counterpane
Under my blanket
But there's my love
But I still feel the presence of the person I love
Up above
Above me, in my imagination
I whisper, "Go away, my lover
I whisper to myself that I should let go of my feelings for him
It's not fair"
Because it's hurtful to be so emotionally attached to someone who isn't really there
But I'm so grateful to discover
But I am also grateful to have this special connection
He's still there
That I can still feel his presence
I love my ceiling more
I have come to appreciate my ceiling more
Since it is a dancing floor
Because now it's like a dance floor for me and my imagination
Just for my love
All because of my deep affection for the person who is not physically present
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: LORENZ HART, RICHARD RODGERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Darren Walshe
Fantastic concert! St Anns park is an amazing venue ❤
NOKNOKWHOSTERify
Absolutely amazing concert thanks for this clip. Epic night,
Felicity George george
Oh.. it's my old time fav and still.. really super.. fantastic.. mindblowin.. outstandin.. history.. all the best ❣❤🙌💪😘❣❤🙌💪😘❣all my 💘❤♥💙💕💖💘❤♥💙💕forever 💘❤♥💙💕💖💘❤♥💙💕💖💘❤♥💙💕
Felicity George george
Thx a million.. all the best ❣❤🙌💪😘❣❤🙌💪😘❣❤🙌💪😘❣❤.. all my 💘❤♥💙💕💖💘❤♥💙
José Saldanha
Waiting for 8 july......Portugal!