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.
The Little Star
June Christy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There was a little star, who couldn't grow no matter how he tried.
He was just a tiny spark.
Sitting in his share of dark.
A less determined star might have cried.
Other stars were posing for astronomers.
Or playing ring of stars around the moon.
The little star sat tight,
And hoped and wished that he'd grow bigger soon.
One dark night.
The word came through.
Of a special job, for a star to do.
All the rest were out, or tired, or dim.
And suddenly he knew it was up to him.
Then all the hopes and wishes of a thousand years.
Came bursting from the little star and shown.
And he traveled through the night.
In a magic stream of light.
The brightest star the world has ever known.
Somewhere in the sky.
There is a little star.
Who can't be seen no matter how it tries.
Getting ready to break through, when there's a job to do.
The biggest little star in the sky.
The song "The Little Star" by June Christy is a touching tale of a small star who longs to grow bigger and shines brightly but is unable to do so. The star sits in the darkness, while the other stars pose for astronomers and play around the moon, although the little star does not lose hope.
On a special night, when the sky was particularly dark, news of a special job came through, and the little star found out that it was up to him. All the hope and wishes from a thousand years burst out of the little star, and he traveled through the night in a magical stream of light to shine brightly and complete his special task.
The song is a beautiful metaphor for perseverance and hope in the face of hardship. The little star's determination and patience pay off in the end, as he becomes the brightest star in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Once upon a time.
This song starts off like many fairy tales.
There was a little star, who couldn't grow no matter how he tried.
This star couldn't get brighter even though he wanted to.
He was just a tiny spark.
Compared to other stars, this one was really small.
Sitting in his share of dark.
This little star was surrounded by darkness.
A less determined star might have cried.
Other stars might have given up but not this one.
Other stars were posing for astronomers.
Other stars were putting on a show for people studying the sky.
Or playing ring of stars around the moon.
Other stars were forming rings around the moon.
While they squandered all their light.
These stars were using up all their energy.
The little star sat tight,
This star stayed put.
And hoped and wished that he'd grow bigger soon.
This star wanted to get brighter ASAP.
One dark night.
Suddenly, something happened.
The word came through.
Someone had a message for this little star.
Of a special job, for a star to do.
There was a specific task that only a star could do.
All the rest were out, or tired, or dim.
None of the other stars were fit for this job.
And suddenly he knew it was up to him.
This little star realized he was the only hope.
Then all the hopes and wishes of a thousand years.
All the dreaming and wishing that this star had done for centuries.
Came bursting from the little star and shown.
All that energy this star had been holding in came out.
And he traveled through the night.
This star moved quickly.
In a magic stream of light.
It created a beautiful glow.
The brightest star the world has ever known.
This star was now the most remarkable star in the world.
Somewhere in the sky.
The story isn't over yet.
There is a little star.
There's still this little star up in the sky.
Who can't be seen no matter how it tries.
Despite all that it's been through, this star still can't shine as bright as others.
Getting ready to break through, when there's a job to do.
But this star is still waiting for another opportunity like before.
The biggest little star in the sky.
Even though there are bigger and brighter stars out there, this one is special and has a special purpose.
Writer(s): Miller
Contributed by Gabriella V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.