"June is the best-kept secret of the twentieth century."
b. Shirley Luster, 20 November 1925, Springfield, Illinois, USA, d. 21 June 1990.
Christy first came to prominence with the bands of Boyd Raeburn and Stan
Kenton, although her chirpy singing style sometimes sat oddly with the earnestly
progressive experiments of her employers. Her bright, bubbling personality glowed
through her performances and she was especially effective on up-tempo swingers.
However, she was also adept on reflective ballads and was never afraid to have fun
with a song. With Kenton she had successes in all of these areas. One of her first
recordings with the band was 'Tampico', which became a million-seller; another was
'How High The Moon'. During the late 40s she was one of the band's main
attractions. Kenton and his chief arranger, Pete Rugolo, responded by providing
effective settings for her voice which, while of limited range, was engaging and her
performances were always highly professional. In January 1947 she married
Kenton's tenor saxophonist Bob Cooper, with whom she made some fine
recordings backed by his small group. After leaving Kenton in 1948 Christy worked
as a solo artist, making many successful recordings for Capitol Records, including
three US Top 20 albums, Something Cool (imaginatively arranged for her by
Rugolo), The Misty Miss Christy and June - Fair And Warmer!. After many years
in retirement, she died in June 1990 of kidney failure.
