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.
When You Awake
June Christy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So I walked on down the road a mile,
Went to the house that brings a smile
Sat upon my grandpa's knee
And what do you think he said to me?
When you awake you will remember ev'rything
You will be hangin' on a string from your
You will relieve the only soul
That you were born with to grow old and never know
Ollie showed me the fork in the road
You can take to the left or go straight to the right
Use your days and save your nights,
Be careful where you step, and watch wha-cha eat
Sleep with the light on and you got it beat
When you awake you will remember ev'rything
You will be hangin' on a string from your
When you believe
You will relieve the only soul
That you were born with to grow old and never know
Ollie warned me it's a mean old world
The street don't greet ya, yes, it's true
But what am I supposed to do
Read the writing on the wall
I heard it when I was very small
When you awake you will remember ev'rything
You will be hangin' on a string from your
When you believe
You will relieve the only soul
That you were born with to grow old and never know
Wash my hand in lye water
I got a date with the captains daughter
You can go and tell your brother
We sure gonna love one another, oh!
You may be right and ya might be wrong
I ain't gonna worry all day long
Snow's gonna come and the frost gonna bite
My old car froze up last night
Ain't no reason to hang your head
I could wake up in the mornin' dead
Oh! And if I thought it would do any good
I'd stand on the rock where Moses stood
"When You Awake" by June Christy is a song with a simple structure and lyrics that are easy to understand, yet still profound in their message. The song begins with the singer being told he's a fool, and after walking a mile down the road, he goes to his grandpa's house. There, his grandpa tells him that when he awakes, he'll remember everything and be hanging on a string. The singer is warned that the world is mean, but to save his nights, he must use his days wisely, be careful where he steps, and watch what he eats. The singer washes his hands in lye water, has a date with the captain's daughter, and mentions that he could wake up dead in the morning.
At its core, "When You Awake" is a song about life's lessons and the importance of learning from one's experiences. The song suggests that there will be times when we feel lost or foolish, but that we should be patient and keep moving forward. The idea of "hanging on a string" suggests that we are all connected, and that our actions affect not only ourselves but the people around us as well. The song encourages us to believe in ourselves and to trust that we have the power to change our own lives for the better.
Line by Line Meaning
Ollie told me I'm a fool.
I was told I was foolish by Ollie.
So I walked on down the road a mile,
I decided to take a walk down the road.
Went to the house that brings a smile
I went to a house that makes me feel happy.
Sat upon my grandpa's knee
I sat upon my grandfather's knee.
And what do you think he said to me?
He asked me what I thought he would say.
When you awake you will remember ev'rything
When you wake up, you will remember everything.
You will be hangin' on a string from your
You will feel as if you're hanging on a string.
When you believe
When you have faith.
You will relieve the only soul
You will save the only soul.
That you were born with to grow old and never know
That you were born with to live your entire life without realizing.
Ollie showed me the fork in the road
Ollie showed me the point where the road splits into two.
You can take to the left or go straight to the right
You can either take the left road or go straight to the right.
Use your days and save your nights,
Make the most of your days and don't waste your nights.
Be careful where you step, and watch wha-cha eat
Be cautious of where you're heading and mindful of what you consume.
Sleep with the light on and you got it beat
Sleep with the lights on to overcome it.
Ollie warned me it's a mean old world
Ollie warned me that the world is cruel.
The street don't greet ya, yes, it's true
The street doesn't welcome you, it's true.
But what am I supposed to do
But how am I expected to react.
Read the writing on the wall
Interpret the hidden message.
I heard it when I was very small
I was told this when I was younger.
Wash my hand in lye water
Clean my hands in strong, basic water.
I got a date with the captains daughter
I have a date with the captain's daughter.
You can go and tell your brother
You can inform your brother.
We sure gonna love one another, oh!
We'll definitely love each other, oh!
You may be right and ya might be wrong
You could be right or wrong.
I ain't gonna worry all day long
I will not worry all day long.
Snow's gonna come and the frost gonna bite
Snow will fall and the frost will be harsh.
My old car froze up last night
My old car was frozen last night.
Ain't no reason to hang your head
There is no good reason to be sad.
I could wake up in the mornin' dead
I could wake up deceased in the morning.
Oh! And if I thought it would do any good
Oh! And if I believed it would be beneficial.
I'd stand on the rock where Moses stood
I'd stand on the stone onto which Moses stepped.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: John Latouche, Jerome Moross
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Yean Kim
When you awake, the day takes a bow at your door
When you awake, the sun shines like never before
Clouds soaked with rain find it hard to explain to the earth below
They can't let it rain for then it would stain our heavenly show, you make it so
When you awake, you open the eyes of my heart
When you awake, my day really gets its great starts
The winds and the birds join the simple refrain of all rippling stream
My world becomes a mid summer night stream
When you awake