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.
Make Someone Happy
June Christy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's a thrill to have the world at your feet
The praise of the crowd, it's exciting
But I've learned that's not what makes a life complete
There's one thing you can do for the rest of your days
That's worth more than applause
The screaming crowd, the bouquets
Make someone happy
Make just one someone happy
Make just one heart the heart you sing to
One smile that cheers you
One face that lights when it nears you
One man you're ev'rything to
Fame if you win it
Comes and goes in a minute
Where's the real stuff in life to cling to
Love is the answer
Someone to love is the answer
Once you've found him, build your world around him
Make someone happy
Make just one someone happy
And you will be happy, too
In this song, June Christy sings about the importance of making someone happy. While applause and praise from a crowd might make one's heart race and give them a thrill, that is not what makes life complete. Through Christy's lyrics, we learn that the thing we can do for the rest of our lives that is worth more than applause or praise is to make someone happy. She encourages us to find that one person whose heart we can sing to and whose smile can cheer us up. Love, she says, is the answer to finding that one person to build our world around.
The song's message is simple but profound. Christy sets a clear reminder about the real stuff life has to offer beyond fame and applause, and how love and making someone happy is the real key to happiness. The overall message is that while getting applause and love from a crowd is good, you can find something more rewarding and lasting by making someone happy. Ultimately, in doing so, you will find that you, too, will be happy.
Line by Line Meaning
The sound of applause is delicious
Being applauded gives me a sense of satisfaction and achievement
It's a thrill to have the world at your feet
Achieving something big puts me at the top of the world
The praise of the crowd, it's exciting
Getting appreciated by the masses gives me a sense of excitement
But I've learned that's not what makes a life complete
I've realized that such temporary thrills don't make life complete
There's one thing you can do for the rest of your days
There's something that's valuable throughout our lifespan
That's worth more than applause
That's priceless and more valuable than mere applause
The screaming crowd, the bouquets
The intense admiration of the crowd and their gifts
Make someone happy
Making someone happy is a noble deed
Make just one someone happy
Making even a single person happy should be sufficient
Make just one heart the heart you sing to
Give special attention to someone and touch their heart deeply
One smile that cheers you
Seeing one person smile can make my day
One face that lights when it nears you
One person whose face lights up seeing me is valuable
One man you're ev'rything to
Being everything to one person can be meaningful
Fame if you win it
Even if you achieve fame
Comes and goes in a minute
It's temporary and fleeting
Where's the real stuff in life to cling to
What's lasting in life that we can hold onto?
Love is the answer
Love is the solution
Someone to love is the answer
Loving somebody is the answer
Once you've found him, build your world around him
After finding love, everything else revolves around it
Make someone happy
Making someone happy brings joy
Make just one someone happy
Just one person is enough
And you will be happy, too
By making others happy, I can also experience happiness
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Adolph Green, Betty Comden, Jule Styne
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind