by John BushThough 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 Kentons 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 ODay had just left Stan Kentons Orchestra, she auditioned for the role and got it early that year. Despite an ...