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.
My One And Only Love
June Christy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like an April breeze on the wings of spring,
And you appear in all your splendor,
My one and only love.
The shadows fall and spread their mystic charms
In the hush of night while you're in my arms.
I feel your lips, so warm and tender,
The touch of your hand is like heaven,
A heaven that I've never known.
The blush on your cheek whenever I speak
Tells me that you are my own.
You fill my eager heart with such desire.
Ev'ry kiss you give sets my soul on fire.
I give myself in sweet surrender,
My one and only love.
"My One and Only Love" is a classic love song which is melodiously sung by June Christy. The lyrics of the song unravel the depth of love and how the very thought of one's partner makes their heart sing, much like an April breeze on the wings of spring. As Christy's voice flows into the song, one could easily visualize a picturesque landscape wherein the presence of the beloved always brings serenity and joy.
The following lines of the song describe the overwhelming and captivating nature of love. The shadows fall, and in the hush of the night, you're in my arms, and all the mystic charm of the world spreads around us. The warmth and tenderness of the lover's lips are expressed through the lines, "I feel your lips, so warm and tender, My one and only love." This evokes a sense of passion and longing that is hard to resist.
The song's chorus speaks of the intense desire that fills the heart at the sight of one's beloved. The touch of their hand is like heaven that's never been known. The blush on the cheek when spoken to tells the singer that they are their own. The deep love and connection between two people are expressed through the lines "You fill my eager heart with such desire. Ev'ry kiss you give sets my soul on fire. I give myself in sweet surrender, My one and only love." True love is all about surrendering oneself completely to the other person.
Line by Line Meaning
The very thought of you makes my heart sing
Thinking about you brings joy to my heart
Like an April breeze on the wings of spring,
Your presence is refreshing, like a spring breeze
And you appear in all your splendor,
You are a beautiful sight to behold
My one and only love.
You are the only one I love
The shadows fall and spread their mystic charms
The darkness creates a magical ambiance
In the hush of night while you're in my arms.
Peaceful silence surrounds us as we embrace
I feel your lips, so warm and tender,
Your kisses are soft and loving
My one and only love.
You are the only one I love
The touch of your hand is like heaven,
The feeling of your touch is heavenly
A heaven that I've never known.
I have never experienced such bliss before
The blush on your cheek whenever I speak
Your rosy cheeks reveal your feelings when I speak
Tells me that you are my own.
It confirms that you belong to me
You fill my eager heart with such desire.
You ignite a strong passion in me
Ev'ry kiss you give sets my soul on fire.
Your kisses excite me to the core
I give myself in sweet surrender,
I fully give myself to you without hesitation
My one and only love.
You are the only one I love
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Guy B. Wood, Robert Mellin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mark Stump
Love, love, love June Christy...always have!
AngusTCat
I love this song too. I had the album when I was in college in the 1980s and played it constantly. So happy I have it now on DVD.
しぁんくれーる0823
この歌の名唱は多々あれど、これもそのうちのひとつであろう。感情過多、「涙」の押し売りにならず,頬をなでる春のそよ風にみたいにさらりと歌い流すChristy……それが逆に「涙」を誘う‼