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.
This Time The Dream's On Me
June Christy Lyrics
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We'll be close together, wait and see
Oh by the way,
This time the dream's on me
You'll take my hand
And you'll look at me adoringly
But as things stand
It would be fun
To be certain that I'm the one
To know that I, at least, supply the shoulder you cry upon
To see you through
Till you're everything you want to be
It can't be true, but
This time the dream's on me
It can't be true, but,
This time the dream's on me.
It would be fun
To be certain that I'm the one
To know that I, at least, supply the shoulder you cry upon
To see you through
Till you're everything you want to be
It can't be true, but
This time the dream's on me
The lyrics of June Christy's "This Time The Dream's on Me" are about longing, hopefulness and imagined possibilities. The singer is looking forward to being reunited with a loved one, but for the time being, they are resigned to dreaming, and imagining the happy future that they hope to share. The lyrics describe a romantic tension, with the singer dreaming about the loved one looking at them "adoringly" and longing to be the shoulder they cry on. The sentiment is repeated throughout the song- "This time the dream's on me"- as if the singer is fantasizing about a chance to make good on their promise and finally fulfill their expectations.
The lyrics manage to convey a lot of emotion without being too specific or detailed; instead, they use the idea of the future as a way to build tension and anticipation. The first verse seems to promise a reunion "somewhere, someday," and the second builds on that idea by describing an intimate moment when the loved one will take the singer's hand. But despite these promises, the chorus repeats the same refrain, implying that the singer is uncertain about whether their dream will come true. This creates a sense of longing and tension that is fulfilled only in the final lines, when the singer acknowledges that their dream may not be true, but reminds themselves that "this time the dream's on me" as if to reinforce their hope and determination that it will eventually come to fruition.
Line by Line Meaning
Somewhere, someday
At some point in the future, we will be in close proximity to each other.
We'll be close together, wait and see
Our physical closeness will happen soon and we need to be patient.
Oh by the way,
By the way, there's something I need to tell you.
This time the dream's on me
I will make your wishes and dreams come true this time.
You'll take my hand
You will hold my hand.
And you'll look at me adoringly
You will gaze at me with love and admiration.
But as things stand
However, the current situation or circumstances do not allow for that to happen.
It would be fun
It's exciting to imagine.
To be certain that I'm the one
To have the assurance that I am the person you desire.
To know that I, at least, supply the shoulder you cry upon
To be aware that I am the one you can rely on for emotional support.
To see you through
To help you achieve your goals and aspirations.
Till you're everything you want to be
Until you become the ideal version of yourself.
It can't be true, but
As unlikely as it seems,
This time the dream's on me
I will make your dreams come true this time, despite the obstacles we may face.
It can't be true, but,
As unlikely as it seems,
This time the dream's on me.
I am making a commitment to make your dreams come true, even though it may seem impossible.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind