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 Know Why
June Christy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Long before the Springtime is due?
And even though it's snowing, violets are growing
I know why and so do you
Why do breezes sigh every evening whispering your name as they do?
And why have I the feeling stars are on my ceiling?
I know why and so do you
When you smile at me I hear gypsy violins
I can see the sun when it's raining, hiding every cloud from my view
And why do I see rainbows when you're in my arms?
I know why and so do you
Why do robins sing in December
Long before the springtime is due?
And even though it's snowing, violets are growing
I know why and so do you
Why do breezes sigh every evening whispering your name as they do?
And why have I the feeling stars are on my ceiling?
I know why and so do you
When you smile at me I hear gypsy violins
When you dance with me, I'm in heaven when the music begins
I can see the sun when it's raining, hiding every cloud from my view
And why do I see rainbows when you're in my arms?
I know why and so do you
In this song, June Christy contemplates the mystery of love and how it can make the world seem more beautiful and magical. The opening stanza muses on the natural world and wonders why robins sing in December and violets grow in the snow. The answer is not scientific but poetic: "I know why and so do you." In other words, the magic of love can make even the coldest and dreariest of seasons feel warm and alive. Later in the song, Christy sings about how love makes her feel like dancing, how it brings music and sunshine into her life even on the rainiest of days. She concludes that the reason for all of this beauty and wonder is love itself, which she and her beloved both understand.
This song can be interpreted as a celebration of the transformative power of love, and also as a tribute to the mysteries that make life worth living. The repeated refrain, "I know why and so do you," invites the listener to join in this celebration and to embrace the enigma of love.
Line by Line Meaning
Why do robins sing in December
Why do unexpected things happen that bring joy and happiness even when it's not the appropriate season?
Long before the Springtime is due?
Long before it's expected?
And even though it's snowing, violets are growing
Even in the midst of difficult and uncomfortable times, there is still growth and beauty.
I know why and so do you
I understand the reasons behind these things and so do you.
Why do breezes sigh every evening whispering your name as they do?
Why do things seem to speak to us in a way that feels like they are conveying a message of love or longing?
And why have I the feeling stars are on my ceiling?
Why do I feel like I'm in a magical place when I'm with you?
When you smile at me I hear gypsy violins
Your smile brings music and joy to my heart.
When you dance with me, I'm in heaven when the music begins
Dancing with you is pure bliss and transports me to another world.
I can see the sun when it's raining, hiding every cloud from my view
With you by my side, everything seems brighter and more beautiful, even during difficult times.
And why do I see rainbows when you're in my arms?
Why do I feel so much happiness and hope when I hold you?
I know why and so do you
I understand the reasons behind these feelings and so do you.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MACK GORDON, HARRY WARREN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind