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.
Softly As in a Morning Sunrise
June Christy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gay and tender
Love came to me
Sweet surrender
Love came to me
In bright romantic splendor
Fickle was she
Faithful never
And clever
So will it be, forever, forever
Softly, as in a morning sunrise
The light of love comes stealing
Into a new born day, oh
Flaming with all the glow of sunrise
A burning kiss is sealing
The vow that all betray
For the passions that thrill love
And lift you high to heaven
Are the passions that kill love
And let you fall to hell
So ends the story
Softly, as in an evening sunset
The light that gave you glory
Will take it all away
In June Christy's song Softly As In A Morning Sunrise, the lyrics explore the theme of love and its fickle nature. Through the use of metaphors, the song emphasizes the ephemeral quality of love and how it can deceive and betray. The opening lines describe the tender and sweet surrender that comes with falling in love. However, the lyrics quickly alter the mood of the song as they introduce the concept of love’s fickleness. Love is described as bright and romantic, yet at the same time unfaithful and clever in how it can manipulate us.
The song then takes a dramatic turn as the chorus begins, comparing love to the rising and setting of the sun. The sunlight is a symbol for the intense passion of love that can quickly turn to betrayal, leaving one feeling empty and without glory. Through the powerful lyrics, the song conveys that the highs of love can end up leading to the ultimate lows, and that the passionate emotions which initially excite our desire, can ultimately lead to our downfall.
Line by Line Meaning
Love came to me
I experienced the joy of love
Gay and tender
It was happy and gentle
Love came to me
I felt love once again
Sweet surrender
I gave in to the powerful emotions of love
Love came to me
My life was filled with romantic beauty
In bright romantic splendor
The love I felt was rich and vibrant
Fickle was she
The one I loved was unreliable
Faithful never
I couldn't count on them to always be there
Fickle was she
The object of my affection was cunning and tricky
And clever
They knew how to manipulate me
So will it be, forever, forever
These problems will continue indefinitely
Softly, as in a morning sunrise
Love seemed innocent and pure
The light of love comes stealing
It crept up on me unexpectedly
Into a new born day, oh
The beginning of something new and exciting
Flaming with all the glow of sunrise
Passion burned bright like the sun
A burning kiss is sealing
A passionate kiss made my feelings stronger
The vow that all betray
Promises of loyalty often break
For the passions that thrill love
Things that feel exhilarating often drive us towards love
And lift you high to heaven
They make us feel on top of the world
Are the passions that kill love
But things that feel great often lead to the end of love
And let you fall to hell
It can be a painful experience when love ends
So ends the story
This is the end of the tale
Softly, as in an evening sunset
Love's light began to fade away
The light that gave you glory
The flame that burned so bright before
Will take it all away
Eventually, it will all be gone
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN, II, OSCAR II HAMMERSTEIN, SIGMUND ROMBERG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@guytanoparks
Love this song!
Softly as in a mornin' sunrise
The light of love comes stealing
Into a newborn day
Flamin' with all the glow of sunrise
A burning kiss is sealing
The vow that all betray
For the passions that thrill love
Lift you high to heaven
Are the passions that kill love
And lead ya down to hell
Same old story ...
Softly as in an evenin' sunset
The light that gave you glory
Will take it all away
For the passions that thrill love
And lift you high to heaven
Are the passions that kill love
And lead ya into hell
Same old story ...
Softly, softly as in an evenin' sunset, sunset
The light that gave you glory
Will take it all away
""Say Richard ... I don't wanna be a drag or anything
But the title of this tune is 'Softly' so could we do it that way, please?""
Softly, softly as in an evenin' sunset, sunset
The light that gave you glory
Will take it all away
@user-ps1cv8te7u
the beautiful misty miss christie
@arvh1952
Each note is made to stand out. What a voice and what clarity. Never heard of her before. Delightful.
@MaureenMaynes
First time I've heard June Christy sing. Wonderful voice!
@claassen334
Magnifique !!!
@Lightningslick
A Sigmund Romberg/Oscar Hammerstein classic. Sung by on of The Best: June Christy
@marfak1000
Love this song
@SuperLawz
What a voice!
@xavier1850
Excellent. Nice choice. Thx.
@Dekyiful
...I love this and my brother introduced me to this album when I was a kid, and this spoke directly to me...yes I love everything about June's vocals & for me she is the precursor for the likes of another unembellished Jazz vocalist, UK singer, Norma Winstone...'Something Cool' is my favourite Jazz vocal album of all time & on this track, definitely June at her most minimalist...in keeping with the arrangement, a break away jazz artist,...thank you for posting ..,greatly appreciated.
@peterjohnson8856
You will enjoy this cover for sure!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7wqkpMPRYw