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.
I've Never Been In Love Before
June Christy Lyrics
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It makes the cloudy day sunny
Makes the bee think of honey
Just as I think of you
Imagination is crazy
Your whole perspective gets hazy
Starts you asking a daisy
Have you ever felt the gentle touch
And then a kiss, and then, and then
Find it's only your imagination again
Oh, well
Imagination is silly
You go around willy-nilly
For example, I go around wanting you
And yet I can't imagine that you want me too
Imagination is silly
You go around willy-nilly
For example, I go around wanting you
And yet I can't imagine that you want me too
The lyrics of June Christy's song "I've Never Been In Love Before" explore the theme of imagination and how it affects one's perception of reality. The singer starts by describing how imagination has the power to turn a cloudy day into a sunny one, just like how it makes a bee think of honey. The singer then goes on to describe how imagination can be crazy and make one's perspective hazy, making them rely on a daisy for answers. The lyrics suggest that imagination can be both a great source of joy and confusion.
The lyrics then shift focus to the singer's personal experience with imagination, specifically how it has led them to believe that someone wants them, but they cannot imagine that the feeling is mutual. The singer highlights how silly and willy-nilly imagination can be because it makes them go around wanting someone they cannot imagine returning their feelings. The final lines of the song repeat this idea, emphasizing the theme of unrequited love and the power of imagination to create false hope.
Overall, the lyrics of "I've Never Been In Love Before" offer a unique perspective on the role of imagination in one's romantic life. It explores how imagination can bring both joy and confusion, and how it can create false hopes and desires that may never be fulfilled.
Line by Line Meaning
Imagination is funny
The power of imagination is amusing
It makes the cloudy day sunny
Imagination can brighten up a gloomy day
Makes the bee think of honey
Imagination can make a bee imagine sweet things like honey
Just as I think of you
Similarly, I imagine being with you
Imagination is crazy
Imagination can drive one to madness
Your whole perspective gets hazy
Imagination can blur one's perception of reality
Starts you asking a daisy
Imagination can make one seek answers from nature
What to do, what to do
When the imagination takes over, decision-making can become difficult
Have you ever felt the gentle touch
Have you ever experienced tender affection
And then a kiss, and then, and then
Followed by a kiss and more kisses
Find it's only your imagination again
But then realize that it was all just a product of your imagination
Oh, well
A resigned acceptance of reality
Imagination is silly
The power of imagination can seem foolish
You go around willy-nilly
Imagination can make one act without a plan or direction
For example, I go around wanting you
For instance, I imagine being with you all the time
And yet I can't imagine that you want me too
But at the same time, I can't imagine that you feel the same way about me
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANDREW GEORGE GABRIEL, CORY CHARLES LERIOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind