June Hutton (born June Marvel Cowan; August 11, 1919 – May 2, 1973) was an American actress and vocalist, popular with big bands during the 1940s. She was the younger sister of vocalist
Ina Ray Hutton
Ina Ray Hutton (born Odessa Cowan; March 13, 1916 – February 19, 1984) was an American singer, bandleader, and the elder sister of June Hutton. She led one of the first all-female big bands.
Biography
A native of Chicago, Hutton began da ...
.
Early years
Hutton was born in
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...
. Her parents were Marvel Svea Williams and Odie Daniel Cowan. June and her older sister,
Ina Ray Hutton
Ina Ray Hutton (born Odessa Cowan; March 13, 1916 – February 19, 1984) was an American singer, bandleader, and the elder sister of June Hutton. She led one of the first all-female big bands.
Biography
A native of Chicago, Hutton began da ...
, both grew up to be entertainers and performers during the
Big Band era
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...
.
When she was 15, she left home to join her sister in pursuit of a singing career.
Career
In her early days, she sang at the
Astor Roof in New York City. After singing with her sister's orchestra in 1938, she was part of the Winston Trio, the Quintones, and the Sande Williams Band. She appeared with the Quintones in ''Hi Ya, Gentlemen'', a failed musical with boxer
Max Baer Max Baer may refer to:
* Max Baer (boxer) (1909–1959), American boxing world champion
** Max Baer Jr.
Maximilian Adelbert Baer Jr. (born December 4, 1937) is an American actor, producer, comedian, and director widely known for his role as ...
. In 1941, she became the female vocalist for the
Stardusters
The Stardusters were American jazz vocalists.
History
The Stardusters were founded as a male trio in the mid 1930s. Glen Galyon, Curt Purnell, and Dick Wylder had already established themselves in 1936 as the Stardusters, and in 1939, were fea ...
, the singing group of
Charlie Spivak & His Orchestra.
After
Jo Stafford
Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...
left
The Pied Pipers
The Pied Pipers is an American popular singing group originally formed in the late 1930s. They had several chart hits through the 1940s, both under their own name and in association with Tommy Dorsey and with Frank Sinatra.
Origins
Originally ...
in 1944, Hutton replaced her, joining the group in May. She performed with the Pied Pipers for six years, recording several hit records including the song "
Dream
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...
." In 1950, Hutton left the Pied Pipers, going solo on
Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
. (However, the trade publication
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
reported in its December 10, 1949, issue that Hutton had already left the Pied Pipers and signed with Decca Records.)
Hutton's post-Pipers solo career included her debut in New York at the
Copacabana nightclub November 16, 1950.
In 1951, Hutton married
Axel Stordahl
Axel Stordahl (August 8, 1913 – August 30, 1963) was an American arranger who was active from the late 1930s through the 1950s. He is perhaps best known for his work with Frank Sinatra in the 1940s at Columbia Records. With his sophisticat ...
, a musical arranger for
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...
. In 1952, she went to
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
, backed by an orchestra led by her husband. She recorded three hit records at Capitol: "
Say You're Mine Again", "No Stone Unturned", and "For the First Time". They also recorded a well-regarded 1955 album, ''Afterglow'', featuring lush arrangements and the vocal group Boys Next Door.
Later years
Stordahl died in 1963, and Hutton married actor
Kenneth Tobey
Kenneth Jesse Tobey (March 23, 1917 – December 22, 2002) was an extremely prolific American actor who performed in hundreds of productions during a career that spanned more than half a century, including his role as the star of the 1957-1 ...
in 1968. Hutton died in
Encino, Los Angeles
Encino (Spanish for "oak") is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California.
History
In 1769, the Spanish Portolá expedition, first Europeans to see inland areas of California, traveled north through Sepulveda P ...
, on May 2, 1973, at the age of 53. She is buried beside Stordahl at
Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
Partial discography
*''
If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time
"If You've Got the Money (I've Got the Time)" is a debut song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Lefty Frizzell, released on September 14, 1950. The song is the second song recorded by Lefty Frizzell during his first session ...
''/''Tear Drops From My Eyes'' (1950, Decca #27329 with the Lee Gordon Singers.)
*''My Sweetie Went Away''/''More Than I Should'' (1950, Decca 27061)
*''All the Bees Are Buzzin' Round My Honey''/''For You, My Love'' (1950, Decca 24056)
*''Nothing''/''Bye, Honey, Bye-Bye'' (1951 Decca 27833)
*''
Keep It a Secret
"Keep It a Secret" is a popular song written by Jessie Mae Robinson and published in 1952.
Jo Stafford version
The best-selling recording of the song was made by Jo Stafford with Paul Weston and His Orchestra in 1952. It was released by Columb ...
''/''I Miss You So'' (1952, Capitol 2268)
*''For the First Time''/''If It's the Last Thing I Do'' (1953, Capitol 2667)
*''
By the Light of the Silvery Moon'' (1953 Capitol with
Gordon MacRae
Albert Gordon MacRae (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 1986) was an American actor, singer and radio/television host who appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals ''Oklahoma!'' (1955) and ''Carousel'' (1956) and who pl ...
)
*''Full Dimensional Sound -- A Study in High Fidelity'' (1953 Capitol) Hutton was one of several artists included on a long-playing album to "demonstrate to audiophiles the full range and capabilities of sound reproducing systems."
*''The Lights of Home''/''You Are My Love'' (1953 Capitol 2369)
*''I Had a Little Too Much to Dream Last Night''/''Song of the Sleigh Bells'' (1953 Capitol 2318)
*''Coney Island Boat''/''Open Your Arms'' (1954 Capitol 2784)
*''Gee''/''Too Little Time'' (1954 Capitol 2727)
References
External links
*
*
Solid!page on June Hutton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutton, June
1919 births
1973 deaths
Singers from Chicago
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
20th-century American singers
20th-century American women singers
The Pied Pipers members
Traditional pop music singers
Hyde Park Academy High School alumni