June Christy
Biography
Though she was the epitomy of the vocal cool movement of the 1950s, June Christy was a warm, chipper vocalist able to stretch out her impressive voice on bouncy swing tunes and set herself apart from other vocalists with her deceptively simple enunciation. From her time in Stan Kenton's Orchestra, she inherited a focus on brassy swing from arranger friends like Pete Rugolo. Rugolo would become a consistent companion far into her solo days too, arranging most of her LPs and balancing her gymnastic vocal abilities with a series of attentive charts.
Born Shirley Luster in Springfield, Illinois, she began singing early on and appeared with a local society band during high school. She moved to Chicago in the early '40s, changed her name to Sharon Leslie, and sang with a group led by Boyd Raeburn. In 1945, after hearing that Anita O'Day had just left Stan Kenton's Orchestra, she auditioned for the role and got it early that year. Despite an early resemblance (physically and vocally) to O'Day, the singer -- renamed June Christy -- soon found her own style: a warm, chipper voice that stretched out beautifully and enlivened Kenton's crossover novelties ("Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy," the million-selling "Tampico") as well as the leader's intricately arranged standards ("How High the Moon").
Selected Discography
Although many criticize her for a mannered delivery, no one could do it better, and there are many who treasure her as I do. She was a disciple of Anita O'Day, but Chris Connor never came close.
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