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.
It's Been a Long Long Time
June Christy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Then kiss me once again
It's been a long, long time
Haven't felt like this, my dear
Since can't remember when
It's been a long, long time
You'll never know how many dreams
Or just how empty they all seemed without you
So kiss me once, then kiss me twice
Then kiss me once again
It's been a long, long time
Just kiss me once, then kiss me twice
Then kiss me once again
It's been a long time
Haven't felt like this my dear
Since can't remember when
It's been a long, long time
You'll never know how many dreams
I dreamed about you
Or just how empty they all seemed without you
So kiss me once then kiss me twice
Then kiss me once again
It's been a long, long time
A long, long time
The lyrics of “It’s Been a Long, Long Time” by June Christy express the sentimentality of a person who hasn't felt the way they feel in a while. They reminisce about the memories they shared with their loved one, the dreams they had with them and how empty everything felt when they were apart. The repetition of “kiss me once, then kiss me twice, then kiss me once again” showcases the longing of the person, they want to feel loved and cherished like they once did. They want to relive the beautiful moments they shared with their loved one. It’s been so long since they felt this way and it feels amazing to be loved and desired once again.
The lyrics seem to portray a relationship that has been rekindled after a long time or a reunion of old lovers. The lyrics are simple, yet they hold deep emotions that many people can relate to. It talks about how the person had gone through tough times, dreaming and thinking about the future, and how their loved one has been absent from their life for a while. However, the moment they meet, everything feels complete and the desire to be with each other rekindles.
Overall, the lyrics of “It’s Been a Long, Long Time” by June Christy speak about the longing and vulnerability that people feel when they have been away from the ones they love for a long time. It’s about the desire to be loved, cherished and to relive the moments they shared with their loved ones.
Line by Line Meaning
Just kiss me once, then kiss me twice
Let me experience the sweetness of your love not only once, but twice.
Then kiss me once again
And let me feel your loving lips on mine a third time - overpowering me with your affection.
It's been a long, long time
It has been such an extended period since I felt your delicious love that I'm not able to keep track of it anymore.
Haven't felt like this, my dear
There is a certain sensation that comes with being in love that I have not felt in a very long time, my love.
Since can't remember when
It has been so long that I cannot even remember the last time I felt such intense love.
You'll never know how many dreams
You will never be aware that so many times, I have dreamt of you and our moments together.
I've dreamed about you
I have had romantic dreams of you every night since we last spent time together.
Or just how empty they all seemed without you
My dreams, even when they were pleasant, felt vacant without you in them.
So kiss me once, then kiss me twice
Give me two kisses to make up for all the moments of unrequited affection.
Then kiss me once again
One more kiss to solidify our rekindled love and confirm that you'll never leave me again.
It's been a long time
I have waited for far too long to experience love in the way that only you do.
A long, long time
It has been an excruciatingly extensive period since I've felt loved in the way you make me feel.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
NAVIERLUNE
@nikna
-Bessie Smith.
-Billie Holiday .
- Ella Fitzgerald .
-Norah Jones.
-Melody Gardot
- Diana Krall.
- Dinah Washington.
-Abbey Lincoln.
- Anita O’ Day
Aquí te dejo algunas , para que las escuches.... saludos desde Perú.
방탄소년단LEGENDS
Taehyung taste in music is really unique :)
“IT'S BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME
Kiss me once, then kiss me twice
Then kiss me once again
It's been a long, long time
Haven't felt like this, my dear
Since I can't remember when
It's been a long, long time
You'll never know how many dreams
I've dreamed about you
Or just how empty they all seemed without you
So kiss me once, then kiss me twice
Then kiss me once again
It's been a long, long time
Ah, kiss me once, then kiss me twice
Then kiss me once again
It's been a long time"
NICOLL TK
es demasiado hermosa y su voz es angelical, gracias V por hacerme conocer a esta mujer
Karime Cardenas
Gracias tae... por mostrarnos tremenda joya.💜
NAVIERLUNE
En serio te gusta o solo por que lo publico taehyung?
Te invito a ver mas del jazz y las otras facetas de este género... ojala te guste de verdad.
nikna
@NAVIERLUNE me nombras algunas , me gusta este tipo de canciones y no se como buscar :c
NAVIERLUNE
@nikna de cual quieres ? De hombres o de mujeres y que genero dentro del jazz quieres que te recomiende?
nikna
@NAVIERLUNE no importa.. de cualquier género , y genero de jazz ...cual te parece mejor?
NAVIERLUNE
@nikna
-Bessie Smith.
-Billie Holiday .
- Ella Fitzgerald .
-Norah Jones.
-Melody Gardot
- Diana Krall.
- Dinah Washington.
-Abbey Lincoln.
- Anita O’ Day
Aquí te dejo algunas , para que las escuches.... saludos desde Perú.
Jossety Oncoy
I feel a small feeling that I have heard it somewhere, maybe it is because of the old tone or the trumpets, thanks to the artists who made this beautiful song, remembering something that I did not even think I had known was an unpredictable feeling, Taehyung made me remember of this melody, thank you very much
WE PURPLE YOU <3💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
Curiousone
I'm so glad Taehyung posted this. This is such a beautiful song 💜
pragati singh
This song sounded familiar because in the Endgame, Captain America and Peggy were dancing to this song only.
It sounded familiar to me too and then I remembered it from where. Hope this helps. 💜