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 Wished On The Moon
June Christy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Wished on the moon, for more than I ever knew
A sweeter rose, a softer sky, an April day
That would not dance away
I begged of the stars to throw me a beam or two
Wished on the stars and asked for a dream or two
I looked for every loveliness, it all came true
June Christy's song "I Wished On The Moon" is a classic example of lyrics that convey deep emotions with simple words. The song talks about wishing for something that is elusive and unknown, and how the singer's desires are fulfilled by finding love. The first two lines of the song "I wished on the moon, for something I never knew, wished on the moon, for more than I ever knew," suggest that the singer is longing for something undefined, perhaps a feeling or an experience that is beyond their current understanding. They are seeking a greater depth of emotion than they have known before.
The following lines talk about the specific things that they wished for - "A sweeter rose, a softer sky, an April day that would not dance away." These lines paint a picture of beauty and tranquillity, and the singer's desire for something that is both natural and fleeting. They are hoping for a moment of perfect happiness that they can hold on to forever. The next two lines "I begged of the stars to throw me a beam or two, wished on the stars and asked for a dream or two" suggest that the singer's quest for something more significant than what they have is persistent and consuming. They are imploring the universe to give them what they are looking for.
The climax of the song comes in the final line, where the singer reveals what they have been hoping for all along - "I wished on the moon for you." This line is both a resolution and a revelation. It ties together the earlier verses and completes the story of the singer's journey from longing to fulfillment. The song is a testament to the power of love and how it can transform even the most basic desires into something profound.
Line by Line Meaning
I wished on the moon, for something I never knew
I hoped for something unknown, that would make my life better, by wishing upon a celestial object
Wished on the moon, for more than I ever knew
I wished for things that I didn't even know were possible, beyond my wildest imagination
A sweeter rose, a softer sky, an April day
I longed for a world that was more beautiful, with gentler skies and blossoms, like a sweet-smelling April day
That would not dance away
I hoped that this newfound beauty and joy would remain constant and not disappear quickly
I begged of the stars to throw me a beam or two
I asked the stars for assistance or guidance, to light my path or provide some hope
Wished on the stars and asked for a dream or two
I made wishes for things that were fantastical, like dreams, and hoped that they would come true
I looked for every loveliness, it all came true
I searched for beauty and found it everywhere, and all of my dreams and wishes were granted
I wished on the moon for you
In the midst of all my wishing and dreaming, I found true love, and I made a wish on the moon specifically for you
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Dorothy Parker, Ralph Rainger
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind