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.
Ev'ry Time
June Christy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where I stood I thought I knew
Or should
True or false, life wasn't ever any waltz
Then it caught the somersaults
For good
Might have known it would
The world steps on my little toes.
Ev'ry time I take a little chance
I pay right through my little nose.
Ev'ry time I fly my little kite
It catches on a tree.
Ev'ry time I throw an anchor out
It pulls me in the sea.
Ev'ry time I feel a little glow
I always get a little shock.
Ev'ry time I stick my little chin out
I always get a little knock,
And when I aim my arrows at the sun
They always miss their mark
Leaving just a lonely little lady
In the dark
"Ev'rytime We Say Goodbye" is a beautifully crafted song that explores the pain and struggle of losing someone. The lyrics seem to be telling a story of confusion and hurt as the singer grapples with their emotions. The lines "False or true, I wish I had a clue or two, where I stood I thought I knew, or should" seem to suggest a sense of uncertainty and indecisiveness. The singer is unsure of what to believe, and they are struggling to figure out where they stand.
As the song progresses, the lyrics become more metaphorical. The lines "Every time my heart begins to dance, the world steps on my little toes" and "Every time I take a little chance, I pay right through my little nose" show how the singer's attempts to find love and happiness are constantly thwarted by the harsh realities of the world. The image of a kite getting caught in a tree or an anchor pulling someone into the sea further reinforces this idea that life is full of obstacles.
The final lines of the song, "Leaving just a lonely little lady in the dark", bring the emotional journey of the song to a poignant conclusion. The singer is left feeling alone and lost in the darkness after experiencing so much pain and disappointment. The song captures the bittersweet nature of saying goodbye and the struggle to find meaning and happiness in the aftermath.
Line by Line Meaning
False or true, I wish I had a clue or two
I am unsure of whether what I believe is true or false, and I wish I had a better understanding of reality.
Where I stood I thought I knew
I believed that I had a solid understanding of my position and perspective.
Or should
Or maybe I was mistaken.
True or false, life wasn't ever any waltz
Regardless of whether my beliefs are true or false, life has never been easy.
Then it caught the somersaults
Life became even more tumultuous.
For good
Permanently.
Might have known it would
In retrospect, I should have expected it.
Ev'ry Time my heart begins to dance
Whenever I start to feel joy or happiness,
The world steps on my little toes.
something always comes along to ruin it for me.
Ev'ry time I take a little chance
Whenever I try to take a risk or pursue something I want,
I pay right through my little nose.
I end up paying a steep price or suffering consequences.
Ev'ry time I fly my little kite
Whenever I let myself dream or hope,
It catches on a tree.
Something always seems to get in the way.
Ev'ry time I throw an anchor out
Whenever I try to anchor myself somewhere,
It pulls me in the sea.
I get dragged down or swept away by life.
Ev'ry time I feel a little glow
Whenever I start to feel good or positive,
I always get a little shock.
Something always comes along to zap my happiness.
Ev'ry time I stick my little chin out
Whenever I try to assert myself or stand up for something I believe in,
I always get a little knock,
I always end up getting knocked down or knocked aside.
And when I aim my arrows at the sun
When I set lofty goals or try to achieve something great,
They always miss their mark
I always fall short or fail to achieve what I wanted.
Leaving just a lonely little lady
As a result, I am left feeling sad and alone.
In the dark
Without a clear sense of direction or purpose.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind