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.
Remind Me
June Christy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Remind me that the world is full of men
When I start to miss you, to touch your hand, to kiss you
Remind me to count to ten
I had a feeling when I met you
You'd drive me crazy if I let you
But all my efforts to forget you
Not to mention that I love you
To be sorry that we met
Although I adore you, remind me to ignore you
You're one thing I will regret
So when your charm begins to blind me
I'll simply tie my hands behind me
Don't let me kiss you, please remind me
Unless, my darling, you forget
The lyrics of June Christy's song "Remind Me" depict a person who is trying to move on from a past relationship, but struggling in their efforts because of the attraction they still feel towards their former lover. The singer pleads with themselves to remember that there are other men in the world and to resist the temptation to reach out to their ex-lover. They acknowledge that they had a feeling the relationship would be tumultuous, but they can't help but feel in love again when they think of their past partner. They don't want to be sorry they met their former lover, but they also don't want to regret continuing to be attracted to them.
The song highlights the inner turmoil of someone who knows their attraction to their ex-partner is not healthy or productive, but still struggles to move on. The lyrics suggest that this is not the first time the person has been in such a situation, as they advise themselves to "remind me not to find you so attractive". While the singer seems resolute in their decision to move on, they also acknowledge that they may falter and seek comfort in their past lover. Overall, the song deals with the complex emotions and difficulties of letting go of a past love.
Line by Line Meaning
Remind me not to find you so attractive
Warn me not to befooled by your beauty or appearances
Remind me that the world is full of men
Notify me that there are many other guys around
When I start to miss you, to touch your hand, to kiss you
When I recall the moments when we were close and intimate
Remind me to count to ten
Ask me to calm myself before giving in to my feelings
I had a feeling when I met you
I sensed something when we first encountered
You'd drive me crazy if I let you
You'll make me go mad if I allow myself to fall for you
But all my efforts to forget you
However, all my attempts to delete you from my memory
Remind me I'm in love again
Make me realize that I have fallen in love with you once more
Not to mention that I love you
Moreover, it's true that I love you
To be sorry that we met
To feel remorseful for our meeting
Although I adore you, remind me to ignore you
Though I have affection for you, tell me to disregard you
You're one thing I will regret
You'll be one aspect that I'll repent later
So when your charm begins to blind me
Thus, if I begin to be blinded by your charming qualities
I'll simply tie my hands behind me
I'll metaphorically bind my hands to resist falling for you
Don't let me kiss you, please remind me
Prevent me from kissing you, and remind me not to give in to my desire
Unless, my darling, you forget
Unless you also forget and don't want me to kiss you
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: KAREN EVANS, PATRICE RUSHEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sam Hamod
this is one of the great jazz pieces of 20th century; she is equal to sarah vaughn, she and sarah used their voices like instruments. thanks for posting this. prof sam hamod, poet and musician 8.22.17
Sam Hamod
her singing and the lyrics are wonderful poetically; as a poet, i admire this songwriter, and the singer as well. prof sam hamod
Mrs. PuRple
exquisito... gRacias!
HLirene Li Taiwan
🎵 charming 🎙️
HLirene Li Taiwan
Liked 🧡 Subbed