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.
Shoo Fly Pie And Apple Pan Dowdy
June Christy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Makes your eyes light up, your tummy say, "Howdy"
Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy
I never get enough of that wonderful stuff
Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy
Makes the sun come out when Heavens are cloudy
Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy
Mama, when you bake
Mama, I don't want cake
Mama, for my sake
Go to the oven and make some ever lovin'
Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy
Makes your eyes light up, your tummy say, "Howdy"
Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy
I never get enough of that wonderful stuff
Shoo-shoo Fly Pie
Shoo-shoo Fly Pie
Shoo-shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy
I never get enough of that wonderful stuff
Shoo-shoo Fly Pie
Shoo-shoo Fly Pie
Shoo-shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy
I never get enough of that wonderful stuff
Fly Pie, Fly Pie
And Apple Pan Dowdy
The lyrics in June Christy's song "Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy" describe the joy and satisfaction that can be found in eating delicious, home-cooked food. The song suggests that if you want to truly satisfy your appetite, and if you are picky about what you eat, then you should take a trip to New England, where you can enjoy the delicious "Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy". These foods are so delicious that they will make your eyes light up and your tummy say "Howdy". The lyrics express a desire for more of this wonderful food, suggesting that the pie and pan dowdy are truly irresistible.
Line by Line Meaning
If you wanna do right by your appetite,
If you want to satisfy your hunger in the best way possible,
If you're fussy about your food,
If you're picky about what you eat,
Take a choo-choo today, head New England way,
Take a train ride today and head towards New England,
And we'll put you in the happiest mood.
And we'll make you the happiest you've ever been.
Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy
Two delicious desserts,
Makes your eyes light up,
Makes you feel happy and excited,
Your tummy say "Howdy."
Your stomach feels satisfied and happy.
I never get enough of that wonderful stuff.
I can never get enough of these delicious desserts.
Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan dowdy makes the sun come out
These desserts make everything seem brighter and better,
When Heavens are cloudy,
Even on a gloomy day,
Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy,
These desserts,
Mama! When you bake,
Mom, please bake for me,
Mama! I don't want cake;
I don't want cake,
Mama! For my sake
For my sake, mom,
Go to the oven and make some ever lovin' sh,
Please go to the oven and make some Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy,
I never get enough of that wonderful stuff!
I can never get enough of these delicious desserts.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, CTM Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Guy B. Wood, Sammy Gallop
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@markherron1407
Stan Kenton is 4 of Clubs ♣️♣️♣️♣️ Happy Birthday to Stan Kenton and Merry Christmas 🎄🎁 Blessings and Hugs 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
@grandiose5720
I love this song
@MrDaveBooth
I remember walking around the house, singing this when I was three or four. This, and Shanty in Old Shanty Town were two of my favorites from the radio.
@Bishbud
I'm just getting into this pre-rock decades of music. Glad to hear there are people still around who remember it on the radio. I'm 53 :)
@darrylcpreston4043
I haven't heard this version for at least 70 years. This is the way the song was meant to be sung! Dinah was an excellent singer, but she mailed her opus in, almost turning it into a ballad from Strasburg.
@OldMovieRob
I love it. I think sometimes I was born into the wrong era.
@sparkydoss
Best version
@robsemail
Best ever version of this song!
@n7y8c7
Seriously! I remember it from an old Lexus commercial.
@robsemail
@@n7y8c7 yes, I remember that commercial.