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 Didn't Know About You
June Christy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The usual laughs, not often, but loud
And in the world that I knew
Chasing after the ring, on the merry-go-round
Just taking my fun, where it could be found
And yet what else could I do
I had the loneliest yesterday, everyday
In your arms
I know for once in my life, I'm living
Had a good time, every time I went out
Romance was a thing, I kidded about
How could I know about love
Darling, now I know
I had the loneliest yesterday, everyday
In your arms
I know for once in my life, I'm living
Had a good time, every time I went out
Romance was a thing, I kidded about
How could I know about love
In the song "I Didn't Know About You" by June Christy, the singer reflects on their past behavior and attitudes towards love, admitting ignorance and naivety. The first verse describes a life lived chasing fleeting pleasures with a boisterous group of friends, unaware of the loneliness they felt. The singer is honest about their lack of understanding about love, joking about romance and failing to see its importance. However, in the chorus, the singer expresses a newfound realization and appreciation for the love they have found, acknowledging the emptiness of their life before.
The choice of words in the song conveys the ideas of loneliness, naivety and growth. The singer increasingly realizes the importance of love in life as they mature, abandoning their previous ways of trivializing romance. The tone of the song is reflective and at times somber; the singer recognizes their past mistakes and embraces what they have learned. Christy's smooth and lush voice adds to the emotional impact of the lyrics, conveying the vulnerability and honesty in the singer's words.
Line by Line Meaning
I ran around, with my own little crowd
I spent most of my time with a group of friends who thought and acted like me.
The usual laughs, not often, but loud
Our laughs were typical and infrequent, but we made up for it by being quite boisterous.
And in the world that I knew
That was the only world I was aware of and felt comfortable in.
Chasing after the ring, on the merry-go-round
I was always pursuing something that didn't amount to much, like a job or a relationship that didn't bring me true contentment.
Just taking my fun, where it could be found
I did not have any particular goals, I was more interested in entertainment and pleasure.
And yet what else could I do
I didn't know any better, it was simply my way of life.
Darling, now I know
After being with you, I realize that my previous way of life was lacking, and I'm grateful to have discovered this.
I had the loneliest yesterday, everyday
I was often lonely without realizing it, and every day was the same.
In your arms
Being with you has provided me with the affection and connection I had been missing.
I know for once in my life, I'm living
Thanks to my newfound love for you, I finally feel like I'm truly living my life.
Had a good time, every time I went out
Before I met you, I was always having fun on the surface, but it was not a deep or long-lasting enjoyment.
Romance was a thing, I kidded about
I made light of love and romance because I had not yet experienced it in a meaningful way.
How could I know about love
Without having experienced unconditional love, I could not fully understand it before meeting you.
Writer(s): Duke Ellington, Sidney Keith Russell
Contributed by Jonathan F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.