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 Don't Mean A Thing
June Christy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If it ain't got that swing
(doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah
Doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah)
It don't mean a thing
All you got to do is sing
(doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah
Doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah)
If it's sweet or hot
Just give that rhythm
Ev'rything you got
Oh, it don't mean a thing
If it ain't got that swing
(doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah
Doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah)
The lyrics of "It Don't Mean A Thing" speak to the importance of swing in music. The song starts by repeating that "it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing," using the scat singing technique to emphasize this notion. It underscores the idea that even if the music is sweet or hot, it does not matter as long as it has that essential swing element. The lyrics continue by stating that all you have to do is sing, emphasizing that the most important aspect of the music is the rhythm and the swing.
The introduction of the scat singing style elevates the song and enhances the theme of the importance of swing. Scat singing is a technique in which the singer uses improvised nonsense syllables instead of words. The lyrics emphasize the importance of rhythm and swing, and the addition of scat singing adds an element of improvisation and creativity to the song. The line, "Just give that rhythm everything you got" encourages the musicians to give their all when playing the music and to put in their best effort to bring out the swing.
Line by Line Meaning
It don't mean a thing
The subject in question has no significance whatsoever
If it ain't got that swing
Unless the subject has the proper rhythm and energy, it is worthless
(doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah
Scatting to emulate the sound of brass instruments
Doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah)
Continuation of scatting
It don't mean a thing
The subject in question has no significance whatsoever
All you got to do is sing
The key to success is to perform with enthusiasm, regardless of other factors
(doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah
Scatting to emulate the sound of brass instruments
Doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah)
Continuation of scatting
It makes no diff'rence
There is no distinction between different qualities
If it's sweet or hot
Whether it is mellow or intense, it does not matter
Just give that rhythm
The beat and cadence are crucial
Ev'rything you got
Put forth maximum effort and energy
Oh, it don't mean a thing
The subject in question has no significance whatsoever
If it ain't got that swing
Unless the subject has the proper rhythm and energy, it is worthless
(doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah
Scatting to emulate the sound of brass instruments
Doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah)
Continuation of scatting
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing
Written by: Duke Ellington, Irving Mills
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
marioalassio1
never heard of her.She´s marvellous ,i love it.
ad ha
Wonderful such an underrated jazz singer. My favourite to be honest with you. Her voice is similar to Anita, but so much more pretty! Sooooo coool! June ROCK!
TheRecordChanger
Well, I'll take that as a request. You can expect it on my channel some time soon...