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 Year's Kisses
June Christy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't seem as sweet to me
This year's crop just misses
What kisses used to be
This year's new romance
Doesn't seem to have a chance
Even helped by Mr. Moon above
This year's crop of kisses is not for me
The song "This Year's Kisses" by June Christy is a melancholic reflection on failed love and the inability to move on. The first stanza presents the idea that the kisses of this year lack the sweetness of those from the past, suggesting a certain disillusionment with the present romantic experience. The second stanza emphasizes the feeling of disappointment, with the new romance not having a chance even with the supposed assistance of Mr. Moon above, a symbol of hope and romance. The chorus repeats the idea that this year's crop of kisses is not for the singer, as she is still wearing last year's love. The use of the word "wearing" evokes the idea of love as a garment that is hard to take off, reinforcing the theme of the singer being stuck in the past.
The song's lyrics are an example of the Great American Songbook, a collection of popular songs from the early 20th century that have become part of the standard repertoire of jazz and pop singers. "This Year's Kisses" was written by Irving Berlin, one of the most successful and prolific songwriters of the era, who also wrote classics such as "White Christmas" and "Cheek to Cheek". The song was first introduced in the 1937 film "On the Avenue", where it was performed by Alice Faye. June Christy's version, recorded in 1959, is a slow and moody rendition that highlights the sadness and longing of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
This year's crop of kisses
The kisses I've been receiving this year
Don't seem as sweet to me
Don't feel as special or enjoyable as they did before
This year's crop just misses
It's not hitting the right spot, not fulfilling my expectations
What kisses used to be
The quality of kisses I remember from the past
This year's new romance
The new love interest I'm pursuing this year
Doesn't seem to have a chance
Doesn't look like it will work out or be successful
Even helped by Mr. Moon above
Even with the assistance of romantic elements like a full moon
This year's crop of kisses is not for me
I'm not satisfied or impressed with the kisses I'm receiving this year
For I'm still wearin' last year's love
Because I still have feelings for someone from a past relationship
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: IRVING BERLIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind