June Christy; ‘Grande Dame’ of Jazz Singing

June Christy, who gained fame as vocalist with the Stan Kenton orchestra in the 1940s and earned the label “the grande dame of modern jazz singing,” has died. She was 64.

Miss Christy died Thursday night from complications of kidney failure at her Sherman Oaks home, her husband, tenor saxophonist Bob Cooper, said Friday.

Times jazz critic Leonard Feather gave Miss Christy the “grande dame” tag during one of her stints at the former Hong Kong Bar in the Century Plaza Hotel. “To the extent that the term connotes professional prestige,” he wrote, “it certainly applies.”

She was also called affectionately “that misty Miss Christy” because of her husky voice and her interpretation of the classic popular song “Misty.”

Miss Christy, who was born Nov. 20, 1925, grew up in Decatur, Ill., and began singing as a teen-ager with local bands. But she soon moved to Chicago, where she replaced Anita O’Day as vocalist with Kenton’s big band.

When the orchestra recorded “Tampico” with Miss Christy in 1945, her career was made. She was named “best female vocalist with a big band” by Down Beat in 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1950.

Miss Christy met Cooper in 1945 when he joined the Kenton band, and they married two years later.

In the late 1940s, Miss Christy made several short films with the Kenton orchestra. She rejoined the band frequently during her career for jazz tours, appearing with Kenton as recently as 1972 at the Newport Jazz Festival in New York.

Miss Christy toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Australia with Kenton, with her husband and with Nat King Cole.

As an independent artist, Miss Christy recorded more than 20 albums for Capitol Records, including her popular “Something Cool.”

Her distinctive vocal styling, influenced by O’Day, Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington, was frequently praised by critics.

“Her breathy, husky sound and narrow vibrato,” the New Grove Dictionary of Jazz noted, “were ideally suited to the cool jazz of the 1950s.”

Cooper said Miss Christy had been unable to perform professionally for the past five years because of her illness.

In addition to Cooper, Miss Christy is survived by their daughter, Shay Cooper of Long Beach, and a brother, Jack Luster of Edwardsville, Ill.

A memorial service is scheduled for 5 p.m. Sunday at the Forest Lawn Church of the Hills.