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.
Good-Bye
June Christy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll never forget you
I'll never forget how we promised one day
To love one another forever that way
We said we'd never say
Good-bye
But that was long ago
No use to wonder why
Let's say farewell with a sigh
Let love die
But we'll go on living
Our own way of living
So you take the high road
And I'll take the low
It's time that we parted
It's much better so
But kiss me as you go
Good-bye
But we'll go on living
Our own way of living
So you take the high road
And I'll take the low
It's time that we parted
It's much better so
But kiss me as you go
Good-bye
Good-bye
Good-bye
The lyrics of June Christy's song Good-Bye are about a relationship that has come to an end. The song expresses the singer's nostalgia for the time they shared together and remembers the initial promise that they made to love each other forever. However, as time has passed, the singer recognizes that the relationship has now come to an end, and it is time to say goodbye. The lyrics acknowledge the pain of letting go of love but also accept the inevitability of the situation. The song's refrain, "I'll never forget you," emphasizes the depth of emotion felt by the singer.
The second verse of the song is a reflection on how things have changed since that initial promise of love. The singer recognizes that the other person has forgotten about them, and there is no point in wondering why. However, the singer still wants to acknowledge the relationship with a sigh, recognizing that the love they once shared has died. The final verse suggests that, regardless of the end of the relationship, the two parties will continue to live their respective lives, with the singer suggesting the two will take different paths, perhaps symbolizing a definitive split. The song ends with the singer acknowledging the finality of the situation, asking for one last kiss goodbye.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll never forget you
I will always keep a memory of you with me
I'll never forget how we promised one day To love one another forever that way
I will always remember how we pledged our love to each other, hoping that it would last forever
We said we'd never say Good-bye
We vowed that we would always be together and never part ways
But that was long ago
That promise was made a long time back
Now you've forgotten, I know
But I realize that you have forgotten about it
No use to wonder why
There is no point in questioning why our love couldn't make it
Let's say farewell with a sigh Let love die
Let's part with a heavy heart and let our love fade away
But we'll go on living Our own way of living
We will both continue to live our lives in our own ways
So you take the high roadAnd I'll take the low
We will each choose different paths for ourselves
It's time that we parted It's much better so
It's time for us to say goodbye and move on, which is for the best
But kiss me as you go Good-bye
But before we say our final goodbyes, give me one last kiss
Good-bye
Goodbye
Good-bye
Goodbye
Good-bye
Goodbye
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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